


Flatline

by feminaexlux



Series: Flatline [1]
Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Explicit Language, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-11-11
Packaged: 2018-12-01 18:11:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11491866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feminaexlux/pseuds/feminaexlux
Summary: An unfortunate discovery was made regarding Knight Nora Shields when she and Paladin Danse were tasked with arming Liberty Prime.





	1. Prologue

## September 25th, 2288 

Sometime in the future he would see her move on. It didn't even seem like the distant future she would be promoted to Paladin. She would lead a team of her own. 

He could see it: a successful mission, praise heaped onto her and her team. She would pull off the power armor helmet and her dark brown hair would fall out in soft rivulets, and she would have a shit eating grin when she looked at him, like she did half the time now. She had recently been pleased with herself, and sometimes with good reason. 

It wouldn't feel so wrong to celebrate by taking her out for a drink then. They would be equals and he could finally relax and maybe start asking her how she felt about the two of them. He had felt... Something, but it wasn't appropriate given the circumstances. But in that future, maybe he could respond more openly to her flirtations. 

He honestly wanted to _now_ but that was improper. Against decorum. 

If she felt the same then, he wouldn't mind if she made her advances. Not at all. 

That future couldn't come soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate summaries.
> 
> In any case, I started writing this story last year and I figure it's time to release it into the wild. I am (as of July 2017) not done with this story at all, but I do have a few chapters that I'd love to hear some feedback on.
> 
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the ride :)


	2. Blind Betrayal

## December 4th, 2288

"Paladin Danse!" She huffed as the both of them went stomping off into the wasteland. "We need to talk!"

"Soldier, I'd appreciate it if we stayed silent until we reached our destination."

Nora didn't want to argue. She was too tired to argue.

They communicated by rudimentary hand signals, avoiding any major firefights and ducking out of range of any vertibirds they heard or saw. She didn't talk and neither did Danse. Occasionally she entertained the thought of just running into the open when the familiar choppers flew overhead after painting a dark red bullseye on her chest with her own blood. It was a silly, macabre fantasy and she knew Danse would have shut it down as soon as he got an inkling. At this point, she was only following his orders because she couldn't fight anymore, and least of all she didn't want to fight _him._

More than a few adrenaline-spiked, heart-pounding hours that felt stretched out _to eternity_ went by. She was ready to go nuts by stress, fatigue, and anxiety. By late evening, maybe even early morning, she and Danse jogged over and down a hill and they discovered the listening post.

"Is this--" she asked before Danse interrupted with a shush. He tapped on the keyboard of a nearby terminal and it blinked into life. She didn't notice the turrets mounted overhead until they too whirred on. _What the hell…_ she thought to herself. He continued inside, gesturing to the elevator. She got in, silently obedient, and then the both of them descended.

The elevator opened up into an unsurprisingly gray, dilapidated room with a few protectron stations. Danse pointed to a terminal inside. "Start the boot sequence for theseprotectrons. Make sure we're identified as friendlies."

"Danse, I--"

"Please. I know you want to talk but just a few more moments."

She stared at him in frustration, but there was an unmistakeable pleading in his eyes. She sighed and did as he asked. "PROTECTRON ON DUTY" 3 simultaneous robotic voices chirped. Danse was still for a few seconds, then visibly relaxed as the robots ambled on by on their lazy patrols. He then stomped off into the adjacent room.

"Danse!" Nora cried, running after him. When she caught up with him, he was exiting his power armor. Even now, under all of this synth treachery bullshit, she smiled nonsensically at the ass first exit as was normal for all power armor. Her sophomoric sense of humor juxtapositioned with the situation made it harder for her to keep calm.

She looked at the floor embarrassed at herself, suppressing the manic grin and the inexplicable need to giggle. She was tagged as an enemy of the fucking Brotherhood of Steel, and all she could focus on was how fine that ass of his was? In less trying circumstances he had never really given her the impression there was anything more than normal Brotherhood cameraderie, even as adorably awkwardly responsive as he was with her flirting.

Now, she was a synth. She was a plant from the Institute. She was the enemy. And he was the beloved Paladin of the Brotherhood. "I'm not stupid, Danse." She said. He looked at her in surprise. "I know what you did is--is against the rules. You'll be seen as a traitor for breaking me out."

"Kni--Nora," Danse said softly.

" _No!_ Don't you get it?!" Nora felt hot tears spilling over the brim. "I'm a synth, and you should have killed me when you had the chance." She felt unsteady, picking up her rifle and handing it to him. "You still have time, you still can go back! Kill me, and take my holotags. Say I escaped and you tracked--"

"Nora," Danse said, an edge in his voice as he pushed away the gun and let it drop to the floor. "What's done is done. I'm aware of how this looks, of how this _is._ I made the decisions, and regardless of whether it was right for the Brotherhood, they were they actions I took and I alone am responsible for."

She stared at him, blank faced. He swallowed.

"You may think of me as the ideal Brotherhood soldier, blindly following orders by Maxson and the like. But I'm not perfect, Nora." He looked at her with his deep brown eyes, flickering with both anger and resignation. "I know how to think for myself. I can see when things are wrong. When we've done wrong." He stood for a moment, watching her as she struggled with her composure. He leaned back against a desk, unsure of what to do. "I'm… I'm sorry things--"

" _You're_ sorry? I think I just ruined your fucking life! And me, I'm just a machine!" She laughed, tinged with hysteria as her earlier attempt to stifle her giggles bubbled over. " _I'm_ fucking sorry, Danse. I'm just an Institute piece of shit. You rescued a glorified toaster." Her sobs spilled over as she shook, her whole body wound in tight, suffocating guilt. "Leave me, Danse. You _need to leave_." She put emphasis on her words by feebly pushing him away.

"Damnit, Nora," Danse said, exasperated. He gripped her shoulders with his hands, then realization dawned. She must still be in shock.

Finding out your whole life was a lie, being captured then thrown into jail, slinking away as fugitives after slews of verbal abuse by her comrade in arms, forced to march in silence across the wasteland avoiding people and open sky. What a hell of a ride.

"Nora," he said softly. "You need some rest. I haven't been easy on you and I apologize for that. You're still in shock and I will stay here with you until you're better." He squeezed her shoulders gently, praying that he wasn't hurting her. She started sobbing harder, words of refusal caught up in wails. She tried to push him away, still weakly, then more insistently, then abruptly gave up and grabbed a fistful of latches on his Brotherhood uniform and buried her face in his chest.

"Goddamn it, Danse. Damn you." She gasped between breaths. "Leave."

"No. I refuse." He said simply, hoping he was conveying some finality. To drive the point home he decided to throw decorum to the wind, at least for this instance. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him, smelling the salt stains of her tears on her cheeks, feeling her hair against his neck.

In the end he needed that as much as she did.

He reached up and placed his gloved hand over hers where she held onto his uniform, instantly concerned at how cold she was. He tried letting go of her to find a blanket in his pack, but as soon as he did she clutched him harder, knuckles turning white. His eyebrows knit in confusion, but he kept one arm around her and gently walked her to the solitary bed, thankful she was working with him and kept from tripping either of them up. With one free hand he threw out one of their sleeping bags over the dirty mattress and laid her down in it.

Or tried to, in any case. She was shaking her head in protest.

Well, if she was hanging onto him, she'd have to follow him. He sat back on the bed and angled himself to lean back against the wall, and she timidly followed, taking some care to settle herself on top of him, her head back to rest on his chest, her legs tucked under herself, his leg against her back.

Every part of her felt frigid and he wrapped her in his arms again, pulling up whatever of the covers he could. In a while he would overheat but he didn't care. They got used to the electric hum of the Protectrons and yet another laser turret she hadn't noticed and dozed off.

She woke up a few hours later, feeling small drops of sweat beaded on her forehead. Danse was worse, looking uncomfortable and sweltered, sweating buckets in his sleep. He hadn't even tried to push her off.

She pushed the covers and herself off him and he started, trying to wake up. "Knight? What's the situation?" He said, clearly through reflex as exhaustion slurred his speech. She pulled down her sleeve and wiped the sweat off his brow carefully. His lips were chapped and he was breathing faster than usual. "Knight?" He asked aimlessly as she got up to get some water.

She pressed a can labeled _Purified_ into his hands and popped the tab. "Drink," she commanded. He did so. "Can you come to the edge of the bed?" He did so, still drinking. He was partially suggestible while waking up, it seemed. Though honestly it was more that he had a lot of faith in her. She placed her hands on the collar and undid it deftly. She then unsnapped the sternum latch, grabbed the zipper tab, and pulled down.

He nearly spat out the water. "Knight!" He coughed. "What are you doing?!" He stopped her by gripping her forearm, heat rushing to his already blazing cheeks.

"You were overheating," she said flatly.

He immediately looked away from her gaze. "I... see." He took a few moments to regain his senses. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep. Have the bed now, I'll take watch." He released his grip and tried to zip himself back up, but her hands were still there, blocking him.

"You're just as tired as I am."

"Irrelevant." He shook his head, pushing sleep further away. "You're under my care and you need the rest more, Knight."

"Danse," she said, pausing. He looked back into her eyes. "I'm not your Knight anymore." She paused again, watching the slow wave of pained recognition wash over his expression. She wiped more beads of sweat off him, leaving her hands on his face. "We both need rest. There's only one mattress but we'll have to make do."

His whole face flushed and his eyebrows went straight up, and he tried to stammer out something.

"I don't want you to overheat again, though," she said, capitalizing on his being stunned to pull the zipper down the rest of the way. She moved quickly before he could react and pulled the uniform off his broad, expansive shoulders and off his sculpted arms, empty water can falling forgotten to the side.

In another world she wouldn't pretend not to notice the clearly involuntary bulge forming between his legs, but she wasn't ready for it now.

She put her arms around his naked waist and pushed him back into the bed. She felt his heart pounding and the familiar pattern of beats in his chest made her wonder about the synthetic muscles in hers, a crude facsimile, a mere imitation. But somehow she found it comforting to have him right under her, breathing and radiating and so alive. At least one of them was.

As for Danse, he wasn't sure why his fool mind stopped working when she last spoke. He didn't stop her from undressing him like he should have, and now there was this goddamned erection in the middle of it. If he didn't die from heat exhaustion he would die from _shame_.

The feelings of having that royally embarrassing moment ebbed away as his pulse slowed down, finally able to hear anything beyond the thumping in his ears. He finally heard her slow, steady breathing and noticed she was fast asleep, arms still wrapped around him as she laid on top.

He decided he wanted to stay alive a little bit longer to apologize in the morning, _then_ die of shame.


	3. Rubatosis

## December 5th, 2288

They woke up in a tangle of limbs. Sometime over the night she had managed to draw her leg up onto his thigh. They were both on their sides facing each other, his left arm underneath her neck, flexed back, fingers weaved in the lengths of her hair. His right arm was on her thigh, hand casually placed where the curve of her butt ended. His cheek pressed against her forehead and her left arm was tucked through under his arm, still draped over his waist.

How they managed to make it comfortable was a mystery. At least this time they weren't a sweaty mess.

The pressure on him was somehow welcome. He lazily wondered if this was how normal couples were? The issue was, they weren't a couple. She wasn't even human, perhaps. He was her commanding officer not too long ago. Right, _wake up, Danse._ It was time to strategically disentangle.

"G'morning… I think," she murmured against his neck. His whole body flushed and she felt his heart beating faster.

"Soldier, I--that--this is…"

She gave him a quick hug, pulling him even closer to her. "Thank you, Danse," she said. "It's been a while since I slept like this. It was… It was nice."

He didn't know what to say for a long time. "We need to get up." His heart was beating like crazy.

"Okay," she yawned. His hand brushed up her bottom unintentionally as they unwound away from each other. He quickly zipped up his uniform before sitting up, watching her stand up and stretch.

"I would like to discuss something with you, if you'll hear me out."

She was incredulous. "I… Don't exactly have anything _planned_ , you know." She stared at the wall in front of her.

"For the first time in a long time, I don't either." He responded quietly. "And it scares me. But there's something else I wanted to discuss." He paused, waiting for a cue, or at least for her to look at him. "What I believe is this," he continued when she closed her eyes. "You had no control over your past. Whether your memories were fabricated or stolen from another, your time in the Commonwealth was yours. The actions you took under my watch were yours. I have no doubts of your accomplishments because I was there. Nothing you have done has made me question your loyalty or willingness to help others in need. You are someone the Commonwealth _needs_ ."

"Rhys seems to have a different take," she said bitterly.

"I should never have let Rhys talk to you like that," Danse growled.

"He wasn't wrong, Danse." She threw her arms out. "I'm from the Institute! I'm nothing but a manufactured doll having her strings pulled by sinister shitheads to fuck up the Commonwealth. I'm a threat to everyone."

"That is something I do _not_ agree with and evidence does not support. Listen to me. I never thought I'd do it before, but I walked away from the Brotherhood willingly because they were wrong." He stood up and turned her to face him, his hands placed gently on her arms. "I need you to accept this. I need you to help me. Do you understand?"

She bit back a few words about how she wanted to die, or possibly less dramatically just go back to sleep. But she knew what the right thing to do was. "Yes, I do," she sighed. "But what can I _do_? How can I _help_? Everywhere we go I'll just be a risk to you."

"I'm willing to take that risk." He said soberly. "This post is secure for now, only Haylen and I know of this place. We can take some time here to think about what steps to take."

There was a long pause. She withdrew and faced away from him again. "If it still means anything," she said with an edge of cold steel in her voice, "what I am, what happened -- The only thing I can think of now is that there's even _more_ of a reason for me to fucking destroy the Institute. I want to take these lying sons of bitches down."

He smiled, though she couldn't see it with her back to him. "Then our primary objective remains the same. Good. However, I don't believe we can manage this on our own."

"I can't believe they put up such a fucking _show_ for me. They were holding my son hostage... and... god, is he even my son?" Nora's voice broke with uncertainty. "He called me 'Mom' but… I never even got to talk to him. What was all that for? Why would they..." Her voice trailed off and Danse was uncertain whether to interrupt or not.

"Do you think the Brotherhood will look for us?" Nora suddenly asked, turning around.

"I don't know," he sighed. "But it's highly probable. Maxson would send a search party considering the course of events that unfolded. I should throw my holotags in some super mutant camp so they'll mark me as killed or missing in action."

"What about Rhys? Does he know where we are?"

"No, not Rhys. But Haylen would never betray us." Danse said with no uncertainty.

"Would they be suspect? Would the Brotherhood interrogate them?"

"Likely. But they wouldn't be held for long."

Nora sighed and started thinking. "Even if Haylen wouldn’t betray us," she said cautiously, "I don't think we should stay here."

"Agreed. I'm limited on supplies, I admit I wasn't thinking… long term."

"That doesn't sound like you," Nora smirked, a ghost of her old self coming through. "There's probably going to be some kind of patrol and they'll go poking around here. But even if that never happened and we had all the supplies in the world, I'd go nuts here."

"Excuse me?" One of his eyebrows lifted.

"It's… I mean, cabin fever? Just the two of us down here?"

"I didn't realize you found my company so unpleasant," he said wryly.

"No, no, it's not that," she said, flustered, making him smirk back with satisfaction. "I just mean -- like, no sunshine…"

He absently thought back to the night before, her on top of him, breathing softly as warmth slowly ebbed back into her fingertips. He had tried to shift her to her side so he could leave, but as they moved he felt her leg rubbing up his thigh. She had hummed softly and his heart thumped faster, his hardness straining against his suit at how close she was. His hand slid down her waist and hip, lingering on her ass. She nuzzled against his neck and slid her arm underneath pulling herself closer to him.

Was she awake? Was she doing this on purpose? She probably was, he wanted to believe she was. This wasn't the first time he'd been tortured that she was right on him touching him all over. God, any more of this and he wanted so much to wake her up for sure and start stripping _her_ naked--

_Breathe in_ , he thought to himself, focusing on the present. _Out_. Fortunately for him, she was still distracted and didn't notice his momentary daydream or elevated heart rate. "Anyway, you're right," he agreed quickly. "At the very least we'll need rations and ammunition, and alternate clothing. As unlikely as it is that the Brotherhood is looking for us here, you're correct that there are scouting recon sweeps and we'll just be pinned down if we stay."

"I think there's a settlement near here," she said, looking at her Pipboy. "If my coordinates are correct. Greentop. Plenty of food and defenses, they might be able to trade for some clothes. Thank God for Preston Garvey," she said, relief on her face.

He frowned, refusing to think on why her mentioning Garvey like that made him so angry. But it gave him an idea. "Perhaps we can utilize the Minutemen against the Institute?"

"For what, building another relay? That trick won't work again."

"No, but you had mentioned they had the capability of doing it the first time. Together we might find another way."

She chewed her bottom lip and he desperately tried to think of anything other than how good her lips would feel on him. The idea of doing something, anything, to get out of here was appealing more and more.

"Okay, you're going to hate this," she said guardedly, "but we may need the Railroad too. I know, I _know_. But hear me out, please?"

That sobered him up. He immediately bit back any scathing responses that were all too easy to say. For the first time in a long time, he needed to stop thinking Brotherhood and start thinking globally. He breathed in and gave a heavy sigh. "I'll… reserve my judgement. It may be beneficial to see what they can offer."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, Danse." She thought for a few seconds more. "So even if we want to let those Institute fuckers get stomped by the Brotherhood, I--I was never sure that the Brotherhood would... hold back. There are still families down there, _children_. I--I want to get them out. The Railroad has the only track record of getting people outta there."

Danse said nothing but nodded, frowning. The Brotherhood wasn't well known for preventing collateral damage.

"Well, and I have to admit... the Railroad probably knows how to deal with… situations like mine."

He kept frowning.

"Danse, why _did_ you save me?"

"As I mentioned before--"

"No, I get that. But it still feels like you're holding something back. You're risking your life for _one person_."

"I've done so for less."

"But for a _synth_? Leaving the Brotherhood?" They stood in silence for a while. "Danse?"

"You… you are an excellent soldier and an even better person overall. You truly give a damn about the Commonwealth, and no one, even those who spend just a single day with you, can say otherwise. Even if you are a synth."

"I appreciate that," she said carefully, coloring slightly. "But you've said as much before. Is… is that all?"

"I… I also care about you a great deal. I haven't been so close to anyone in a long time. Ever since Cutler."

_There it was_ , she thought. It wasn't said out loud, but she felt he _needed_ a chance to save someone he cared about. This was a surprisingly close parallel to his old friend: irrevocably and undeniably his closest friend ended up being an enemy. But she had the advantage that her mind was still more or less intact. Maybe this was salvation by proxy for Cutler.

"Okay, I think I get it." She smiled. "Thank you for all this," she said, moving in to give him a quick hug. "I swear I'll make it up to you one day."

He smiled back, hesitantly returning the hug. "I'll hold you to it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of these chapter titles will be from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows. I'll leave it to you to find out what they mean :)


	4. Intermission - June 3rd, 2288

"Another day, another assignment completed," Danse sighed, oddly content. Such the soldier, very professional, but over the past 7 months Nora was able to get him to relax and open up a bit. He had apologized for pushing her so hard, talked about his past in the Capital Wasteland with Cutler. She had flirted with him and it didn't go over his head that time around. He was even responsive, if awkwardly so.

She really had enjoyed those moments. But she had recently became curious about something. "Are relationships allowed between members of the Brotherhood?"

He raised his eyebrows. "It is… not something actively encouraged… but many Brothers and Sisters have… come together." He subconsciously closed his palms together.

"What happens when the relationship involves a superior?" She asked with a smirk.

He coughed to cover his blush. "That would be against regulations. Why are you asking, Knight?"

"Oh, I had been wondering about you," she paused, grinning devilishly. He swallowed. "And Elder Maxson."

He was taken aback. "Maxson?" He sputtered, confused.

"Sick bay's quite the rumor mill. I've heard your reverence of the Elder goes beyond professional."

"What? No!"

"Aww, Danse, we're friends, aren't we? You can be honest with me."

"I _am_ being honest. Who would think such a thing? This is inappropriate." This conversation did _not_ go the way he had expected.

She snickered and said "Sorry," giving him a broad smile. "I was teasing. But now I'm curious if you did ever think about settling down with anyone." Now _that_ was too smooth a transition.

He pulled out two Gwinnett Stouts from his pack. They were slightly warm, but… well, most beer was here. He popped the caps off, stuffing those back into his pack, he and Nora clinked bottles and took a few sips. She patiently waited for an answer, but raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Sometimes," he sighed wearily. "But we've got too much to do."

"Trust me, Danse. That doesn't stop anyone from falling in love."

"I suppose," he said noncommittally, taking a long sip of his beer.

"One of these days a person's going to come through and be so amazing it will be a mind-blowing experience."

"I think I'd shoot first," Danse deadpanned.

"Yes, take it literally." She rolled her eyes at him. "You know what I mean. Someone comes into your life so utterly different from the rest you want to rearrange the whole world just to spend one more moment with them. Are you telling me you'd just let it go?"

He paused, deciding whether to answer. "This theoretically amazing person would be joining me aboard the Prydwyn after making the correct decision to join the Brotherhood."

"How romantic. Is that all?"

"We'd be soldiers, first and foremost."

"What if they don't join?"

"Then she wouldn’t be amazing."

Nora laughed. She had been tempted to ask what would happen if said imaginary lady was great at blowjobs, but that would have been too tactless, even for her. "Touché. Alright. She is on the Prydwyn as a prime example of the Brotherhood. Really works well for the Brotherhood, as dedicated as they come. You two get together? Get married? Have children?"

"Were those questions and am I answering all of them?"

"Yes. And yes. Please."

He paused, taking another sip of beer to contemplate. "Possibly. If she wasn't my subordinate," he said in a flat tone. In another light, all of this might have been taken as flirting. But he was serious and Nora took him at face value. She knew when he was serious by now.

"All that and just 'possibly'?"

"It would depend on… a large number of circumstances. One of which is whether we're at war, which we are. Battles are fought and soldiers perish in action regardless of preparation and strategy and military superiority. It wouldn't be fair to either of us if something happened."

"Fair? How is anything fair?" Nora shook her head. "That sounds like a cop-out, Danse. It wouldn't be _easy_ , you mean?"

"It would be neither."

"Well, yes…" Nora drank from her beer, then waited for Danse to take another sip of his. "You make me wonder now... I'm not really sure whether it really was better to have gotten married. If I knew all this was going to happen." She stared out into the wastes.

Now he really wasn't sure what to say.

"But the times I had with Nate... I wouldn't give them up for the world." She sighed. "I wouldn't be the person I am today without them."

Danse thought back to Cutler. Not all memories were great.

Nora remembered a time when she and Nate sat back and watched the stars while kicking back a beer like she and Danse were doing now. Though with Nate it had been at the park… where they proceeded to make Shaun… Nora hid a bittersweet smile to herself. She _probably_ wasn't going to be doing a repeat of that with her CO, even so she wondered how enjoyable it would be. She snapped back to the present, slightly embarrassed, and tried to stop thinking about her husband. "Well, here's to a quick and clean war. And to your lady. And our future." She raised her bottle, looking at Danse.

"Ad victoriam," he responded, raising his bottle to hers.


	5. Anecdoche

## December 8th, 2288 – Evening

"Welcome back, Boss," Deacon chimed. "Haven't seen you or your tinman pal for a while now. Tinman, you're missing all your metal. What happened? A little Commonwealth rain rusted it right off?" Danse scowled in reply.

"Deacon, there's a situation and I need to talk with you and Desdemona _now_ ," Nora interrupted.

"No small talk today? Man, you heavies are all straight to the point. Well, 'cmon back. Except you, big guy," Deacon said, blocking Danse from following. "We're already a little nervous around you Brotherhood types."

"He's with me." Nora said.

"Sure, sure, Wanderer. I don't doubt you, but I also _can't_ really take your word when their type have been sniffing around awful close recently. You wouldn't happen to know about any runaway synth traitor slash fugitive named Shields slash Howard would you? And some guy called Paladin Danse went MIA too, practically at the same time. Think they're related?"

Nora cringed. "Where did you hear that?"

"Nah, friend. The question is _now_ do you realize how important the Railroad is? But you're here, obviously, I think we've made our point." Deacon lowered his arm blocking Danse, smoothly transitioning to an inviting gesture. "Still not sure about you, but if Wanderer vouches, we're good."

"That's right," Nora said, walking in. Danse was silent, staying behind Nora. She sat down in a chair in front of Deacon as he leaned against a raised cement block in the cramped Railroad HQ.

"Wanderer," Desdemona greeted.

"Hey girl! I _knew_ you were too badass to be human," Glory laughed.

Desdemona continued unperturbed. "Deacon had briefed us on your situation before you arrived. Now, of course, I'd like to verify it first hand before we move on."

"Aw, Dez, you sure know how to make a guy feel appreciated."

Nora sighed. She began recalling her trip to find Liberty Prime's nuclear arsenal in the Glowing Sea, much to the dismay of the Railroad agents. She had been stopped by another Brotherhood patrol when she had to leave Danse behind so he could secure the warheads. Then the capture, imprisonment, irrefutable DNA evidence that she was an institute plant.

"Boo to the LP armaments, lady. Honestly," Deacon said, disgusted, and shook his head. "But fine, we'll burn that bridge when we get there. Question. What about Pali-Danse here? Leaving out choice parts to the story."

Danse finally spoke up. "Look, I understand we have our ideological differences. But the fact is I am no longer representing the Brotherhood. I've seen how we had been… misguided, to a degree." Danse looked apologetically at Nora, who gave a half grin back.

"Believe it, Deacon, he was ordered to kill me. But here I am."

"Then I suppose the question is what would _you_ like to do now?" Desdemona asked Nora.

"I still think the Institute needs to be taken down." Nora said simply.

"Hell yes," Deacon and Glory chimed.

"And you had originally expected to do that with the Brotherhood?" Desdemona continued asking.

"Liberty Prime is a force to be reckoned with, and I still believe the Brotherhood will try to use him to destroy the Institute. However," Danse interjected, looking at Nora again. "I believe even with the current work done and the nuclear payloads the Brotherhood engineers and technicians were having issues with his… functioning at full potential. We may still have the opportunity to deal with the Institute first."

"When I was in the Institute I was asked to do a network scan from their terminals and load it into a holotape. If I can get that to you, would you be able to get anything out of it?" Nora ventured.

"Isn't that with Proctor Ingram?" Danse asked.

"You just _gave_ valuable information over to the Brotherhood like that? Without letting us know?" Desdemona asked, disbelieving.

"I thought I was doing the right thing at the time," Nora growled. "How was I supposed to know it would all blow up in my face?!" She shook her head to dissipate the anger. " _Anyway_. I can still get it to you. I… had Sturges make a copy…"

Danse had his mouth agape. "You made a copy of sensitive information without informing anyone?"

"If I died, _someone_ should have it! We'll just make our way back to Sanctuary and get it, see if the Railroad and the Minutemen can figure something out." Nora said nervously.

"Maybe you're forgetting that the Brotherhood is looking to exterminate you. Sanctuary will most likely be closely watched, so you need to sit out on this one, Wanderer." Desdemona said, matter-of-factly.

Deacon nodded. "Not a bad call. I'll go grab the holotape while you and Dansey boy hang out in Goodneighbor until--"

"I'd prefer to avoid Goodneighbor entirely," Danse scowled, interrupting.

"What, scared of a few ghouls, soldier boy?" Glory asked mockingly.

Deacon continued. "Oohhkay then. How about Diamond City? Yeah, go there. Call it a tactical extraction or retreat or whatever. Hide in plain sight like I taught you. Just, you know, not at Sanctuary Hills."

"And _wait_?" Nora asked.

"I promise you we won't waste any time bringing the Institute to its knees," Desdemona clarified. "But you are an extremely high profile target, Wanderer. And I believe you still have an important role to play. We will formulate a plan and use your skills at the best moment possible, but now is not the time. Glory can escort you to Diamond City. Paladin-- excuse me-- Danse, you can stay here if you like. If you're willing, we can use your military expertise."

"No, I'm going with Nora. I'm not letting Nora out of my sight."

"So we've got ourselves a start, sort of," Deacon said, pushing himself off the raised concrete. "Now I know you just said some particular words there Danse baby, but I'm going to have to borrow Miss Shields slash Howard here for a private conversation."

"Don't hide anything from me, Deacon. You can have that discussion with me present." Danse said, with cool anger.

"No. Negative. Negatory. Non. Nein. Nyet. Uh, no."

Nora stood up and put her hands up in a conciliatory gesture. "I'll be just a minute." Deacon put his arm around Nora's waist and she squeaked, and smirked to himself as Danse's rising anger made him lose it. Danse stalked after Deacon but Glory stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey man, simmer down," Glory said to Danse, pulling out and lighting a cigarette after pushing him back. "Deacon rustles everyone's jimmies. You ain't special."

"How is this acceptable?" Danse growled.

"Because in this game you gotta keep your cool, no matter how fucked up things get." Glory responded, blowing out a puff of smoke. "But speaking of fucked, how fucked are you guys?"

Danse heaved a sigh and leaned back against a column of brick. "I don't know," he said, honestly.

"Figures," Glory said. "How you taking it? That your girl's a synth?" She added, nonchalantly.

  
"What? My…" Danse asked, blushing slightly. "Uh, no, she's not-- I don't--" He sighed again, shaking his head. "I haven't processed it."

"What's there to 'process', man? The only reason I'm asking is because you're Brotherhood. Yeah, you came here saying some bullshit like you 'left them behind', but I bet there's still some part of you telling you to nuke me and all of Railroad HQ to hell. I wanna know if you'll do that."

"No."

"For real? Then you've already 'processed' it. You get it. She's just as human as you are, with maybe some extra computer shit in her head and a serial number on her ass."

Danse's eyebrows went up. Were there really serial numbers on synths? There? "Serial numbers? I haven't seen any reports that state--"

"Haha, oh my god you think I'm serious with that? Shit," Glory laughed. "Man, I thought for sure you'd have already checked her out to know I'm bullshittin' ya. If you were my type I'd show you myself, but Wanderer would kick my ass to the fucking moon. I know you're hers."

Danse's eyebrows furrowed and he blushed at the same time. "Excuse me?"

"Wait, you two ain't a... a thing together?"

"Together?" He dumbly echoed.

"Jesus…" Glory shook her head. "I've said enough then. God. Fucking humans."


	6. Lachesism

## December 8th, 2288 – Evening

Deacon and Nora had walked to PAM's calculation room, which was relatively quiet and isolated as the assaultron worked over her latest statistics, ignoring the two operatives. "I'll need something to prove to Garvey that I'm working with you. I get the sense that he'll still _want_ to work with you, synthiness and all. But he doesn't know me."

"I can write a letter or something?" Nora suggested. "Oh, right, I can make a holotape."

"Hmm? Yeah, okay boss, holotape. I'm sure you know it's not the real reason for our talk here."

"This is about Danse?" Nora sighed.

"You trust him? Really really trust him?"

Nora was firm with her response. "With my life."

"I'm still trying to figure the guy out, find out who he loves more: the Brotherhood or you. He's _utterly_ in love with you, but he probably still has a hard-on for the Brotherhood too."

Nora's heart started to pound. "Wait, back up. What?"

"Don't tell me you didn't know. Huh. You really didn't? I thought this was all some clever conniving on your part."

"No, I--I didn't-- He doesn't think of me that way?"

"Sure as hell he does. What, his big daring self-sacrificing rescue wasn't screaming 'I love you' enough for you?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, mainly to cover her eyes. "Even… if I _wanted_ to believe that, I'm a synth. It's not… this isn't," she sighed. "It just seems so _Danse_ , though?"

"No, boss. He, shining Paladin of the freaking Brotherhood, gave up his entire way of life for 'a synth'." Deacon said, using air-quotes. "A man like Danse sticks to his principles, it's probably written into his DNA. If he left the Brotherhood like you and he claims, it's because he found something _more important_. Now _please_ tell me it's you."

Nora shook her head. "Deacon, why does this matter?"

"You want the truth? The cold, hard, fucked up truth?"

She looked at Deacon and nodded slowly.

"It's a numbers game, Wanderer. PAM here can tell you that. You're part of us now, whether you like it or not. You are living the nightmare that all other Synths go through one way or another. Now that Paladin Danse is involved, we need to know if he's with you-- and therefore _technically_ us-- or if he's actually still with those other Brotherhood nut jobs. We need to know _now_. If Liberty Prime is close to up and running, we at HQ need to cut any loose ends that lead either the Institute _or_ the Brotherhood to our doorstep."

"'Cut any loose ends?' Wait, you mean you want to kill him?!"

"Blunt way of putting it, but we'll have to do what we'll have to do to survive. You know that, you saw the Switchboard with your own eyes. But only if we have reason not to trust him."

"Goddamn it, _I_ do!" Nora screamed, surprised to feel tears in her eyes. "I trust him. I wouldn't even _be here_ if it wasn't for him. For the love of God please don't hurt him." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"Fine." Deacon sighed heavily. There was a long beat before either of them said anything. "If it wasn't for the fact we're literally talking about life and death situations, it's freaking adorable, you know? You two crazy kids, in love."

"The hell? What the fuck are you talking about?" Nora growled.

"Me-ow," Deacon laughed, miming a claw swipe. "You know me, I happen to be the only one 'round these parts with any sense to give you all shit for how you act. But you two need to stop dancing around each other-- heh-- before something terrible happens and one of you is gone forever. It does a hell of a number on the survivor, let me tell ya."

"Uh, who and _what are you talking about_?" She asked again, with a harsh emphasis.

"Uh, last time I checked you weren't an idiot. Unless the Brotherhood lasered out your deductive reasoning and I can't put that past them, you know I'm talking about you and Danse. Stop pretending you don't have feelings for each other."

Nora shook her head and pointed at herself. "Synth, remember?"

"So?"

"Aren't these so called 'feelings' all programs anyway?"

"Wow, you are fighting me hard on this. Why is that? You're none too subtle in your fawning over him. He's super protective of you." Deacon shook his head. "I completely and utterly blame the Brotherhood for this, that there's some concepts you still haven't wrapped your head around. How many times have I told you that Synths are grade-fuckin-A humans? Your feelings are real, you bleed real blood, you are _still a person_. What were you a month ago? That hasn't changed. Fleshy and meaty and squishy, thinky, feely, and Nora-totally-completely-human-Shields. Or Howard. What do you go by now anyway?"

Nora just looked at him without comment.

He sighed. "Take some time for yourselves, relax and get all sorted out, go get _laid_ for the love of God. After Dez comes up with a plan I can't see having a single spare moment with what's on our plate. Use the time you've got, use it wisely. You won't get that back." Deacon paused, letting it sink in. "Sorry to unpack all that on you, my friend."

Nora looked up at him in sudden realization. "Deacon… this is about Bar--"

"Apology accepted. Now, where's that holotape? Hell, this makes me a delivery man, right? I'll call myself Courier... what are they up to now? Thirteen? Courier Thirteen. Lucky number. Sounds all mysterious and New Vegas-y."

* * *

"Excuse me, Danse?" Desdemona asked, gaining his attention. "I'd like to clarify exactly how much time we have before Liberty Prime is fully operational. Would what you mentioned be an issue with the engine core?"

Danse felt surprise, then a slight pang of guilt for revealing Brotherhood secrets, but then remembered how coldly Elder Maxson had threatened his status and commanded him to murder Nora. At the same time he could be risking the lives of all of the Brotherhood personnel… "Affirmative. The technician, Doctor Li, had mentioned needing an extra component to stabilize Liberty Prime's engine before Knight Shields and I left to obtain his armaments. The upgrades to Mark II left his energy efficiency below operating threshold. He'll deplete his reserves before effective range." He hoped it was sufficiently vague. He had a sinking feeling it wasn't.

"This 'extra component' wouldn't happen to be the Beryllium Agitator, would it?" The expression on Danse betrayed enough to Desdemona, and she smiled in response. "We've had some measure of success gaining intel with our agents. It seems this component is the only one powerful enough to operate a technologically advanced complex or a weapon of mass destruction."

"This thing _exists_?" Danse asked incredulously.

"It does, and we know where it is. I believe it's time to kill two birds with one stone. Tom, the map if you please," Desdemona nodded to Tinker Tom, who pulled out a rough map of the Commonwealth, marked with various symbols and colored ink in seemingly random patterns.

"Yeah, man," Tom said excitedly as Danse looked confused over the insane map. "Dez, are we finally sendin' in the heavies to blow out Blake Tower?"

"Not this time, Tom," Desdemona said gently. "As a consolation, we will be getting the agitator in your hands."

"Whoa, really? Oh man, can't wait to see what I can do with that baby!"

"Yeah, let's see if we can _find_ the damn thing first," Glory said, rolling her eyes and shooing Tom away.

" _Goddamn it,_ I _do_!"

Desdemona, Glory, and Danse all looked up from the map and stared in the direction of Nora's outburst. "Heh," Glory said. "Looks like Deacon found her rage button."

"Well, we should continue." Desdemona said, trying to refocus. Danse was unsure whether to go after Nora or not, but he found Desdemona looking expectantly at him. "If you're ready, Danse."

He blinked, then nodded, uncomfortable with himself. He kept his ears open for more outbursts while half paying attention to Glory and Desdemona discussing locations and tactics to deal with any encounters. A few minutes later Nora walked out of PAM's designated area looking agitated, then stood across Danse with her arms crossed to look at the map. "What's this?"

"Change of plans," Desdemona said. "Perhaps we _can_ use your skills now."

Danse shook his head. "No. I'm going in alone."

"No offense, dude, but you just waltzed in from the Brotherhood and we don't know how you operate. Can't trust you alone. I'm going with you at the least to guarantee I shoot your ass down if you go running off with it." Glory countered.

"Going where? To get what?" Nora asked.

"The Beryllium Agitator in the Mass Fusion building. This singular component is powerful enough to run the Institute or Liberty Prime. We want it in the Railroad's hands," Desdemona explained.

"We need to buy ourselves some time before the Brotherhood can act," Danse followed up. "They'll still find a way to work around this, but Proctor Ingram believed this would have provided enough juice for an immediate invasion."

"Wow, really? Jesus. So search and retrieve? Simple enough. I'm game."

"No, I don't want you to come. It's already dangerous enough with the Brotherhood--" Danse started.

"They're searching for the both of us," Nora interrupted, placing her hand on his and eliciting a blush from Danse. "I will do this with or without your permission," she threatened, leaning forward with a glint of steel in her eyes. He stared back, willing himself to be just as defiant but somehow felt undermined by his quickened pulse.

"As dangerous as it is to send all of you out, it's settled." Desdemona announced before Danse got a word in. "We need all of you working together to ensure the success of this mission. Wanderer and Danse, please get us to the agitator. Glory, provide backup and collect it once they've found it. Wanderer and Danse will head to Diamond City after extraction. Agreed?"

"Yes."  
"Got it."  
"No."

"Outvoted."

Danse sighed.


	7. Intermission - August 19th, 2288

They hadn't really spoken to each other since leaving the Cambridge police station. It was still somewhat… difficult to get over their awkwardness, the both of them thinking back to their last argument leading to her month-long "solo mission", as Danse had officially filed it. But they had marched over to Wicked Shipping to stomp the recent surge of feral ghouls, the both of them glad to have a relatively simple mission goal to complete.

It was easy to take out the ghouls. It had gotten easier to defeat their enemies every time they worked together. It was dusk and they had gotten ready to report back to Knight Rhys when a radstorm rolled in overhead. They decided it would be less corrosive to camp out for the night at the fleet lockup.

He had found an intact Power Armor station and felt he needed something to do with his hands. He got out of his suit and went through his mental checklist of diagnostics on the power armor, checking for any signs of metal fatigue and trying to ignore the other voice in his head telling him he needed to _get his act together and just talk to her_.

Danse mentally berated himself for being such a coward. He had plenty of things he wanted to say but it never seemed like it was the appropriate time. He took a covert glance at Knight Howard, sitting next to a bright fire drinking some herbal tea a scribe concocted out of Commonwealth blossoms to help people sleep. The Knight had never gotten used to the sound of radstorms, never having grown up in the Wastes.

He noticed the band of untanned skin on her left hand. Her wedding ring was missing.

"It's... it was a part of me for 2 years. But I spent almost one of those years without him. You reminded me it was time to... move on." Nora had noticed him noticing her hands. She fidgeted with her ring finger, the missing presence of her wedding band still unconsciously bothering her.

He sighed, his whole body taut with anxiety. "Knight, I sincerely apologize for saying that. It was profoundly rude and inconsiderate for me to even suggest that, and I realize that I've made a huge mess of things." He also realized just how much he was hiding from having an honest discussion and put away his tools. He owed Nora that much; not that it made anything easier.

"Danse, I'm fine. You were right, even if it sucked to hear it." Nora gave a half-smile. "I tried getting some closure. He's... Nate's finally been put to rest. I can't believe I just left him out there for a fucking year, you know? I'm glad you kicked my emotional ass, because I failed him. I failed him and Shaun and you. But I'm trying to change that. I'm going to fix that."

He sat down nearby without facing her and stared at the fire for a while. "This... isn't going to be easy for me to say, but I want you to know – I know you've had your differences with the Brotherhood and it's... It's not my right to force you to stay. When you said you had to leave for a while it hit me that I was _still_  pushing you too hard. For all that we've been through together I ended up pushing you away, and you're the best recruit I've seen in a long time. But what you need and what I want, I don't know if they're the same. As much as I hate to admit it, you may find a better mentor elsewhere… I won't stand in your way if you want to leave the Brotherhood, permanently."

"I had just told Maxson I'd be dedicating myself to the war." Nora smiled bitterly, looking blankly at the fire.

"Is that what you really want?" Danse looked at Nora.

"What I really want?" Nora looked back at Danse. "What I want is to be back in _my_  Sanctuary, with my baby and my husband. My family and friends. My neighbors. My lovely home and my nicely made bed and my car and a working stove with real food and maybe some goddamn air conditioning. I'd even want to go back to _work_  and use my fucking law degree that I'd still be paying off the student loans for," she said in an angry litany, her voice rising with every breath. "But this isn't reality. What I want isn't _possible_  anymore. My husband is dead, my friends and family and neighbors have been dead for centuries, and my home is a literal wasteland.

"But my son is real, I've _seen_ him. The Brotherhood is real. You're real, aren't you? God, I hope this isn't some fucked up delusion. What I want doesn't matter. What I _need_ is something to hold onto. Maybe the Brotherhood isn't a perfect fit, but what is?" Nora took a drink. "I'm honestly scared, Danse. I'm scared of the future. But I can see the Brotherhood is a force to be reckoned with, so I'll be backing the side that has the best chance of seeing tomorrow."

Somehow that didn't make Danse feel any better. Those words should have given him a sense of pride, but it only brought him more unease. "Knight, I'll do my best to get you your son. But beyond that, if there is anything I can do to make you happy here, even if it means letting you go, I will do it."

"What I need right now, Danse," she said quietly, getting on her knees to face him and putting her hands on his shoulders, "is some stability. I need to see this through. I need to get Shaun back, and I think I need you and the Brotherhood for that. After the war, after this Institute shit, then we'll talk, okay?"

Danse took one of her hands on his shoulders into his and gave it a squeeze. "Alright." She sat back down next to him and stared at the trashcan fireplace.

After a while, Nora asked "Did you really think I would come back just to leave again?"

"I wasn't sure. I thought you may have wanted to come back to give me one last verbal lashing. Perhaps I had guilted you into coming back. It wasn't my intention, and... I don't want you to be resentful. I don't want my grievous mistakes representing the whole of the Brotherhood."

"Hmm." Nora said, non-commitally. Danse frowned.

"Please, Knight. If there's anything you feel should be said, if there's anything I've done wrong, I'd like to know."

"Danse, I'm in... incredulous that you think you've done anything wrong." For a moment there it sounded like she wanted to say something completely different.

He paused for a bit, thinking through his words carefully. "I don't want to lose all the faith you've put in me. However little, if any, remains."

"How about this, then? I'll tell it to you straight, if I have any comments. No mind games or hidden bullshit, promise. I don't have anything right now, though."

"I appreciate that." Danse sighed and tried to change the topic. "Anyway, Liberty Prime is still undergoing some construction, so you haven't missed much on that front. It appears that we're still missing some actuators for him to be fully mobile. Perhaps we might make a stop at Milton General Hospital to try to find the high powered magnets Ingram needs."

"Well, we _are_ building a huge fucking death robot. I imagine that takes time."

"I'm sure we'll be able to cut out a few days with you back. You have a knack for finding valuable items."

"Except my mind," Nora joked darkly, mostly to herself.

"What was that, soldier?" Danse asked, somewhat concerned. Nora did have a flair for the dramatic but it always hinted at something serious.

"No, no, I'm just kidding. I mean... okay." She sighed. "Every day I keep running this through my head. Here I am, in this weird post-apocalypse with androids that look perfectly human and giant lizards named _Deathclaws_  and insects bigger than my freaking head flying around stabbing me with stingers longer than my forearm. People forming into gangs and shooting other people for the hell of it because they're raiders and hopped up on some crazy wasteland drugs. People who've been nuked to hell and survived through it anyway because ghoulification _is a thing_. This is strange to wake up to. Sometimes I think I'm crazy, but I'm probably not 'cause you'd have told me. And even after almost a year of this, I think I'm still getting used to it.

"But I _am_  getting used to it, even if it doesn't sound like it. The past is gone. I won't dwell on it."

_What happened last night is... the past. Let's not dwell on our mistakes._

That stupid night in Diamond City flooded back into Danse's memories and he swallowed. He had gone over and over how he should have responded, or how he should now apologize profusely for kissing her and pinning her to the wall while he sported a massive erection... She had been moaning and calling his name and touching him like crazy but she wasn't in control of herself then while he was pretty sober, so how could he have possibly thought that she would want him like he... He wasn't her husband, maybe she kissed him first because she thought he was Nate? But why would she call out _Danse, oh yes please Danse…_ There had been other idle daydreams where she was fully sober and he followed through but those were ridiculous and he knew it would never happen, not that it stopped his subconscious from filling in deliciously explicit details – but by God this was, what was it that she said, some messed up delusion? He was a goddamned Paladin of the Brotherhood, and she was his Knight under his charge and in every way it was against protocol to even think of her like that, and anyway she has a son and lost her husband so why was he even – why was he such a mess? Why was he so _nervous_? The last time he felt anything like this was nearly a _decade_ ago, and he thought he was past this irrational nonsense.

"Danse? Are you okay?" Nora looked at him with concern.

"What?" He asked in surprise.

"You spaced out for a minute there."

"I apologize, Knight. I was lost in thought." He shook his head.

"Yeah, that was obvious. Care to tell me what's on _your_  mind?" She smiled.

 _God no_. "That's... unnecessary, Knight. I'll set up watch." He said hurriedly, leaving the cozy fire. It wasn't a smooth transition, but it would have to do. He wasn't ready to talk about it. He might never be ready to talk about it, but she didn't need to know and things would be fine.

Nora watched him go with unsatisfied curiosity. He had been staring at the wall for legitimately over a minute, barely blinking. It might have been a trick of the light but she thought she also saw him blush and furrow his thick eyebrows for some reason. _What were you thinking, Paladin?_  She thought to herself, yawning. Her interest was quickly lost as drowsiness overcame her and she laid down on her sleeping bag.

* * *

It felt like scant minutes later when she roused from sleep. She had been dreaming about something vivid and she was surprised to feel tears down her cheeks. Danse was looking at her with concern. "What's wrong?" She asked sleepily, wiping away the tears.

"I was about to wake you for the next watch," he said quietly. "But it looked like you needed more sleep. Then I heard you say something, though I couldn't make it out. When I took a closer look you were... you were crying."

"I don't even remember--" Nora trailed off. _Nate._ It was about Nate. Of course it was. She looked down at the back of her hand, seeing the patch of untanned skin on her finger, wondering if she was going to lose it.

But it was now just an untanned patch of skin. She smiled sadly to herself. "Sorry, Danse. Just a dream."

He remained unconvinced. "Nora, if you still need to sleep it off please say so."

"Hah. Now I know you're tired. You almost never use my first name. I almost thought you'd forgotten it," she joked.

He blushed, putting a hand to his heavy-lidded eyes. "I apologize, Knight."

"Aww, no, I like it. I don't know why you don't give me shit about it, but I call you just by name almost all the time. I like using names instead of titles."

"Regardless," he said, changing the subject. "Are you going back to sleep?"

"No, Danse. I think you need some rest, you look tired as fuck."

"What?" He asked, confused and slightly alarmed.

Nora sighed. Antiquated slang. "I'll take watch. I'm fine. You're not. You should sleep now." She kept her sentences short as she saw him blinking slowly.

He begrudgingly got to his sleeping bag and passed out.

* * *

He woke up at dawn, as usual. She had a pot of coffee brewing over a hot plate, and he could hear the water start gently boiling. He was immensely glad that she had decided to partake in this particular indulgence: he could already tell his sleep fell short of actually providing any rest. It had been like that recently-- if he could be honest with himself, ever since she had left.

Now that she was back, he had hoped he'd get a decent night in, but something about finding her in tears when she woke definitely made him uncomfortable. It must have carried over into what meager sleep he was able to get. "Almost ready," she said quietly. He got up and rubbed sleep from his eyes. After packing up his portion of the bivouac he went to the water pump and splashed cold water onto his face. He went back to find her leaning against a wall, sipping her cup of coffee. "Oh, here," she said, standing up straight and walking over to pick up another cup. She presented it to him. "Yours. Black, right?"

He nodded appreciatively. "Thank you, Knight." They drank in silence for a while, the awkward silence from before filling in the space between them again. He stole a glance at her and saw her staring pensively at the floor. "Knight Howard, is there something you want to talk about?"

She looked up sharply at him, mildly… Shocked? Fearful? He was getting more uncomfortable by the second. Maybe she was re-thinking his offer to leave. "S--sorry. I'm…" She sighed, putting down her half-full cup of coffee down on a desk. "Could you call me Knight Shields from now on? It doesn't make sense to keep a… keep my dead husband's name. God, this is so stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"This… The dream last night? It was about Nate." She smiled sadly. "You know, I thought once I buried him I'd just… Get over it. But I haven't. I know it doesn't work that way, but... I still feel… Lost. I keep being reminded of him everywhere I turn, especially with his name." Danse's shoulders both relaxed a bit in sympathy and sagged in regret. He knew there would be no magic fixes for lost loves. Or he should know that by _now_. "It hurts... less maybe? Less now. Maybe not _right_ now. It feels… Okay to talk about him, just a little. I know he's gone. I guess that's an improvement." She continued, oblivious to his reaction. "Is that all there is?"

"It takes time. It will… Continue to hurt less over time." It was all Danse could say, but it was the truth he knew.

"Will you tell me that I'll be okay?"

"Only if you promise me you will take care of yourself." The steaming cup in his hands felt increasingly hot, so he set his mug down next to hers. He put his hand on her shoulder. When had he started getting comfortable with touching her?

She snorted softly. "Yeah, you're right. Of course," she said. She placed her hand on his and gave it a squeeze, a reply in kind to last night. "Thanks for being here."

"Where… Else would I be?" He asked, confused, taking her statement quite literally.

"Hah, I mean listening to me, and stuff. And helping me deal with all this. And sticking around for me. I'm probably one of the more difficult initiates you've had."

"You do remember Knight Rhys, right?" He said flatly. She laughed out loud. It felt good to hear that, he thought. It had been a while since he last heard it, and some tension eased out of his body.

It was quickly reintroduced when she pulled him quickly into a hug, surprising him. She held him tightly and he felt a blush over his entire face. "I mean it. I'm glad you're here with me," she said, voiced slightly muffled against his chest as she talked.

He wrapped his arms around her. "As long as you'll have me, I'll stay by your side."


	8. Agitation

## December 8th, 2288 – Later that same evening

"Fusion cells," Nora called out, tossing a box at Danse. He caught it in one hand and nodded his thanks.

He had been continually surprised and moderately impressed by her since her help at Cambridge, even though she had initially tried to dodge his questions about her origins and intent. He was pleased when she helped him out at ArcJet, and took some great personal satisfaction when he was able to convince her to join the Brotherhood.

When he was first made her sponsor last December they were still questioning how well they would work together, but over time they built an amazing synergy. A synergy he had greatly missed when she was on medical leave and another time took off to run her "solo mission." But now they were here together, watching and covering each other while crippling his most feared enemy and his former family in one blow. Destiny sure had a way of putting him in horribly contradictory positions.

They had cut through the Mass Fusion building and its Gunner inhabitants like a hot knife with Nora sniping long range with his spotting, then switching to her beloved Righteous Authority for closer range. (He not so secretly loved that she added her own personal touches and carried it with her every day.) He would grab the enemy's attention and he and Nora would mop up. The job was even easier with Glory and her hailstorm of minigun bullets providing suppressing fire. The trickiest part had been facing the Gunner commander in Power Armor. Nora and Danse glanced at each other and split up. "Glory, follow Danse!" Nora hissed.

The Gunner commander fell predictably into their trap. Danse and Glory drew his fire and withered him down while Nora climbed over rubble and sniped the fusion core from the power armor. The fight was over with the core's explosion. The commander never even had time to exit.

"So, where do we find this agitator thing?" Glory asked. "Ain't gonna be lying around here, I guess."

"Here's a terminal," Nora pointed out, patting down the commander and finding few useful items and passing them in turn to Glory and Danse. She walked to the terminal and hacked in, browsing through a few entries. "Shiiit. It's in a restricted area, access by ID card only. And if Murphy's Law applies now like every time it's fucked with me before," Nora said, jumping to the lower floor and standing in the middle of the room. "It's at the top of the fucking building!"

"What's the problem with that? We got an elevator here." Glory called out.

"It doesn't work without an ID card. Which I don't have. Which none of us have."

"Let's take a moment," Danse said, jumping down to meet with Nora. "I don't believe the _agitator's_ at the top of the building. Liberty Prime-- and I suppose the Institute-- would need a power source like a nuclear reactor. If the agitator is what I think it is, it should be below ground."

"Then we blast a few floors. Sounds like fun," Glory smiled.

Nora was unsure what to make of it, but a lead was a lead. "I'll leave it to you."

A few grenade bouquets in structural weaknesses later, the three of them dropped down to an access corridor and discovered one of the most advanced reactors in history. They found their way to the main control room by sheer luck, Nora thought. She played with the terminal and tried unsuccessfully to shut off the security systems, finding the entries on the dormant assaultrons nearby alarming and told Danse and Glory to be on guard. Nora ran and found the facilities terminal to shut down the security protocols for good.

She kept her thoughts on how unlikely they were to get out unscathed to herself.

* * *

Nora was a bit disappointed. With Glory around she wouldn't have to be so damn jittery alone with the former Paladin. But after several terrifying minutes with huge doses of radiation Nora had handed over the agitator to Glory and Glory booked it back to HQ. Nora got out of the conveniently found hazmat suit after taking her time in the decontamination shower.

"Mission accomplished," Danse sighed. "I hope we're doing the right thing."

"You have doubts?" Nora asked.

"Maybe…" He turned to her and smiled sadly and part of her innards did a little flip. "We'll just have to see."

Deacon's words had apparently greatly unbalanced her once it finally settled through her thick skull. When Danse had told her almost half a year ago she needed to get her shit in gear (in way more polite terms, of course), when she realized he was _right_ , she had pushed away any sort of desperate yearning into the deep recesses of her mind. It was the correct thing to do.

_He's_ utterly _in love with you_ , she remembered Deacon telling her. That single thought popped open that lockbox in her head, and suddenly she felt exposed, cornered. All of the feelings of _wanting_ and _needing_ with a good bit of _lust, adoration, respect, admiration_ for the man by her side bubbled back into her and she didn't know what to do. She was like some insecure teenager again.

Maybe her programming had a glitch. "Let's head out to Diamond City." Nora jogged off after cleaning up, hoping the sudden adrenaline would pass.

Except for the occasional feral ghouls, Super Mutants, or raiders, they hadn't run across any actual threats along the way. They tossed ammo back and forth in their casual destruction of wasteland terrors. In the relatively normal state of operating under fire Nora was able to keep her mind focused, as Danse had taught her. He didn't really notice anything was wrong until she had found a functional weapons workbench and asked for some time to dismantle a salvaged pipe rifle for parts.

"Feeling creative today?" Danse asked from behind her. She jumped, hitting the corner of her hip against the edge of the workbench.

"Fuck!" She yelped as she doubled over in pain, falling to the floor.

"I'm sorry," he laughed. "I didn't mean to scare you." He knelt and helped her to her feet. Her face was flushed and she tried hard to _not_ look into his eyes.

His voice had felt like it was from mere inches away and it made the hairs of her neck stand up on end, cold electricity tickling down her spine. She muttered a quick thanks and drew her gaze down to look for pieces that rolled off the workbench.

"Is something amiss?" He asked, as even _he_ had noticed she was pointedly trying to avoid looking at him.

"Just… a little nervous being out here," she said, which was partly true.

"I'll secure the perimeter again," he offered.

"No, I'll be done here in a sec," she said, facing away from him, stuffing the weapon parts into her pack. "I shouldn't have held us up here. We should move out."

When they heard a Vertibird nearby they ducked underneath a subway entrance and crouched out of sight until the sweep was over. "We should be clear to move out," Danse said. She flinched at his voice, which alarmed him. "Nora?" He set a hand on her shoulder and turned her toward him. She looked at him with… fear? Anxiety? What was it? "Are you alright?"

"Sorry," she breathed. "Want to be in Diamond City already." Was she _that_ spooked by the Brotherhood now? She hadn't had this reaction when they left the Listening Post and Greentop to travel to the Old North Church. What had changed?

"We're in close proximity. We will make it before dawn," he tried to assure her. She nodded and jogged off without waiting.

This sudden development was troubling, to say the least.

In the first hour of the new day Danse continued to notice that she kept her distance further, kept her responses shorter, and even deliberately avoided making any physical contact with him. He kept his comments to himself considering how agitated she was with him. Had he done something wrong?

They finally got to the emerald gate before daylight, as Danse had predicted. They were met by Danny Sullivan. "Oh shit," Danny said. "Look, wait here, okay?" He left quickly. Danse looked at Nora, worried. Danny came back, adding "Okay, come in, but keep it quiet. You're at Home Plate, right? I suggest staying in for a few days. At least."

"What's the situation, Sullivan?" Danse asked.

"Look, people here have heard… stories about Miss Howard. Piper's trying to kill those rumors but she needs some time. People don't really believe Nick either." Danny shook his head. "After McDonough people here are still a little spooked."

They reached Home Plate without issue. "Thanks, Danny," Nora said softly.

"It's the _least_ I can do," Danny said unhappily. "I just… hope things will be fine soon." He surveyed the town center and went back to his post.

"Even here," Nora sighed.

"I'll… go grab a room at the Dugout. Try to get some rest, soldier."

She opened her mouth to form a reply, but she just ended up nodding in his general direction. "See you."

Danse had never felt more disappointed than when she turned away and set the door to shut on him. He had half a mind to march in, sit her down and demand to know what the matter was. Before he caught himself, he had already pushed the door open and walked in. She spun around in surprise, her pack in the crook of one arm and in the middle of opening a bottle of moonshine they kept for disinfecting purposes. "Wha?" She asked, eyes open wide.

"I apologize for the intrusion, sol--Nora. I need to ask a question." He glanced at the alcohol in her hands. "Are you... alright? Ever since we left Mass Fusion I've noticed that you've been acting unusual. Would you please tell me what's wrong?"

His face did the thing where he looked like a sad puppy and her stomach had butterflies again. She took a long draw of the bottle before she answered. Her mind grasped at possible things to say, anything but that she was… Had already been for so long… She gulped the last of Bobrov's Best and coughed as the liquor burned her throat. "It's not fair that I keep putting you in danger," she rasped. "That's… that's what's wrong." It wasn't necessarily a lie.

He narrowed his gaze at her. "That doesn't seem to be the whole truth."

"Not the whole truth," she admitted. "But… I'm... it's... it's not..." She sighed.

"Does this concern the Railroad?" Danse ventured cautiously. He wanted to push, but he couldn't afford to have her too mad at him. If she left him this time... well, he wouldn't let it come to that.

"No, it doesn't." She admitted again. "But we're not playing 20 questions here, Danse. I'm sorry I've been weird. It's… just been a lot."

"I want you to trust me, Nora. There's something that's obviously bothering you and I would like us to deal with whatever it is."

She smiled at nothing in particular, looking blankly to the side of Danse. "Can I get some sleep first? Please?"

"Will you promise me you'll tell me what the issue is after?"

She bit her lower lip. "Okay. I will."

He watched her for a few moments, then nodded tiredly, making his way back to the door. "I'll see you later today. But I _would_ prefer to stay close," he said, turning back to her. "In case of any emergencies," he added quickly. For some reason he felt the need to clarify.

The moonshine had started to kick in. "Bed's upstairs," she answered before she caught herself, taking out miscellaneous parts from her pack and organizing it into her workbench. She halfheartedly hoped he hadn't heard.

He unslung his bag, took off his jacket, and went upstairs only to discover he had misheard her and she was talking about _one_ bed. He immediately felt the heat rush to his face. "I… can sleep on the couch." He said.

She hummed a _hmm_ as she tried to think. She took the items from his hand as she came up the stairs and placed his pack and his jacket on the dresser. "It's a shitty couch, and it's not like we haven't slept together before," she added a little too breezily, popping the tab on some water and drinking it. It was funny how she had been afraid to tell him the whole truth, but now sharing a bed wasn't a big issue. She shrugged to herself and chalked it up to having gotten inebriated already.

Though she wanted him to stay close too.

"Ah," he said, stunned and red-faced.

She kicked off her shoes and patted the bed. "I'll switch off the lights."


	9. Encumbrance

## December 9th, 2288 – Late Morning

She woke up with a mild hangover, but she knew something like that would happen after downing that much hard liquor. She had left an extra can of water on the dresser for that very reason. She tried to get up but was held back by Danse's right arm firmly locking her in place.

She felt his breath on the back of her neck as she laid on her left side, felt his chest pressed up against her back, his legs against hers. His right arm enclosed her as his hand tucked under her side. She turned her head and he roused from sleep, pulling away as her stray hairs tickled his nose.

It took a moment to get his bearings, freezing in shock as he remembered where he was. At least they had gone to sleep in their clothes. He thought he had fallen asleep without invading her personal space, deliberately keeping to his side of the bed. He had even faced away from her so he wouldn't end up doing anything inappropriate. His subconscious had betrayed him. He immediately pulled back his right arm and she got up to take that drink.

He sat up and leaned against the wall. He just needed something to _do_ , to keep his hands busy, to burn off the anxiety. He coughed and cleared his throat. _If you would hand me my pack I'll make ready downstairs,_ he prepared to say.

"Danse… I guess I need to say something," she said before he actually got his words out, turning toward him on the bed.

Oh god, was this about the way they woke up together?

Or the strange behavior earlier where she was seemingly avoiding him? That was why he wanted to stay close in the first place. Perhaps not _this_ close… not that he was truly complaining. "Yeah?" He said, getting off the bed to face her.

"God, I guess it's not really worth hiding anymore." She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly through her mouth, a trait he noticed whenever she was highly nervous. She shook her hands in another nervous gesture. "Okay, yes. I know this is prooobably a bad time, but, well," she sighed. "Even before this synth shit, I—was going to…" She sighed again. "You know what? Nevermind."

He looked worried. "Was it something I did?"

"No, no, don't—it's not..." She groaned. "I'm sorry. It's... I'm realizing how stupid and selfish it seems."

"I'd like to hear whatever it is you have to say for me to judge that for myself."

She gave a forlorn smile, waiting a few heartbeats, then took his hands in hers. "I'm incredibly grateful, Danse. You've done so much for me and... you deserve better than this. My feelings for you are just going to make things even _more_ complicated."

He stared at her. "Feelings? What... kind of feelings?"

"Just... so we're clear, 'cause I don't want you taking this the wrong way at all. I appreciate all that you've done. Truly. This—this isn't _just_ because of that. Like I said, this was on my mind even before this... synth bullshit. But here, I'm really honestly glad you're still with me," she squeezed his hands. "Because I'm in love with you, and I have been... for a while."

A long beat passed and her shoulders dropped. She clapped a palm to her face. "Goddamn it, this _was_ a bad idea." She groaned. Maybe Deacon was just playing her after all.

His vocal chords seem to have seized up. He had a torrent of words he wanted to say but nothing was actually getting out, though he supposed it was a good thing as he probably would have sputtered nonsense instead in sheer surprise. In lieu of being able to talk he tried gently to uncover her face by pulling her hand down to his.

She looked up to him under layers of red-hot embarrassment and she cringed. "Sorry."

He took a slow breath in, relaxing the muscles in his throat. "I thought we had worked on dealing with what makes you uncomfortable. Was that what happened last night? Were you running away from me?"

Her head dropped. He felt a pang of guilt and hoped she wouldn't see through the slight hypocrisy as _he_ was no paragon when it came to dealing with his feelings. "Something like that, I guess," she answered miserably.

There were loud bangs on the door which made Nora jump, and a heavily muffled voice called out. Nora could barely make out the words. " _Blue!_ Hey, Blue! It's me!" She guessed it was Piper, who kept pounding against the door with what sounded like a clenched fist with the way the door thudded. "C'mon Blue, open up! C'mon c'mon..."

Another deeper muffled voice was heard as Nora made her way downstairs. "Calm down, kid. She might not even be awake right now." Piper promptly ignored the warning and pounded against the door again before Nora was able to open the door.

"Piper? Nick?" Nora asked cautiously as she unstuck the door and opened it ajar.

"Oh thank God!" Piper exclaimed as she rushed forward to hug Nora, shouldering the door aside. "I just _knew_ something happened when you stopped sending letters!"

"We'd better get inside," Nick said wearily. "Piper did a good job waking up the whole damn town. So much for keeping a low profile."

"Oh, shut it, Valentine." Piper sighed as they made their way indoors.

"What's going on?" Nora asked as they made their way to sit down around the dining table.

"And what the hell are _you_ doing here?!" Piper jabbed a finger in his general direction and yelled at Danse, who was leaning against the wall next to the workbench. He looked up at nothing in particular, eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Use your head for a few seconds, Piper. If he's here and Nora's fine, there's gotta be a reason for it." Nick said, reasonable as always, looking back and forth between Danse and Nora.

" _What's. Going. On_?" Nora repeated.

"People are saying you're a synth! The Brotherhood are saying you're a synth. What a load of bullshit!" Piper exclaimed.

Nora burst into tears. She had actually meant to laugh but it all came out wrong.

Piper stood with her mouth hanging wide open, and Danse had pushed himself off the wall. Nick had beat him to the punch and strode over wrapping his arms around the crying woman without an instant's hesitation. "Hey. Hey, Nora, you're safe here. We're here for you, kiddo. I'm here." Nick rubbed Nora's back as she sobbed into his shoulder. "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere." Nick took a quick glance at Danse and raised a synthetic eyebrow, but Danse had no reply except a grimace. The detective turned back to Nora and patted her back.

Valentine was so much better at this than he could ever be, Danse thought. Already outmatched by a 2nd gen synth. And a broken one, at that.

Nora tightly hugged Nick back, grateful at the stable presence. She really hadn't meant to cry-- she thought she was past all that by now-- but… She felt depressed. Naked. Raw. She was on edge and wasn't really sure how to keep her wits. "Nick," she sobbed. "I'm so sorry," she said between breaths.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Nick said quietly, still hugging her tightly.

Piper cautiously came up and squeezed Nora's shoulder. "Blue? Are you okay?"

Nora closed her eyes and heaved a big sigh against Nick's shoulder when she felt more calm. "You both better sit down."

* * *

It was a relatively lively conversation with Piper making surprised interjections and Nick providing gentle reassurances as needed. For the second time in two days Nora relived her traumatic journey. She knew it had to happen, and maybe a few times more before it got any easier to tell, but it was like ripping the bandages off a still healing wound. At least it was fresh enough that details weren't washed out.

"You know, I wouldn't have suspected my life to be a foreshadowing to yours," Nick said. "You're a tough gal, Nora. Anyone else in your shoes woulda gone nuts."

"I'm not convinced I haven't gone off the rails," Nora sighed. Somehow a glass of water had magically appeared in her hand. Where had this come from? Nick and Piper were in front of her the whole time. She _was_ losing it.

"Oh God, Blue…" Piper groaned, sick with worry. She grabbed Nora's other hand and squeezed it hard. "If there's anything I can do, _anything_ , you name it."

"You've always done right by us, Piper and me," Nick added. "And Diamond City. Hell, the whole of the Commonwealth, even if none of these miserable ingrates show it. It doesn't matter one bit if you're human, a synth, or a dressed up radroach on stilts. We'll stick up for you and have your back."

Nora managed to laugh softly and shake her head. "Valentine, Piper, I love you both, you know that?"

"If I may," Danse interrupted, after clearing his throat. Right. He was still here-- did he bring the water? "We should take leave so Miss Shields can get some rest."

Piper squinted at Danse unhappily, but she asked "Did you want us to leave, Blue?"

"Maybe… It's for the best…" Nora sighed. "I've got such a fucking headache."

"Let's get going," Nick said to Piper as the reporter gave a quick, hard hug to Nora. "Take it easy, kid… But you let us know if something's up. We'll come running." Nora saw Valentine and Wright walk out the door, expecting Danse to follow. _We should take leave,_ not _you should take leave._ She watched the door as it slowly swung closed. She felt her water glass slip up out of her hands.

Danse had pulled it gently from her hands and set it down on the kitchenette counter. Nora had been frozen, staring at the door, glassy eyed but slowly coming to as she realized he _was_ going to stay. _Goddamn it, I'm alone with him…_ She covered her face with her hands, curling up into a ball on her ratty old couch.

_Knig-- no. Sol--_ Danse sighed internally. He had been trying to work through the tangle of emotions inside him, unable to come up with the correct response to Nora. She said she was _in love with him_. Could she… could a synth really be capable of that? But… that she was a synth wasn't bothering him to the degree he expected, if he was honest to himself. It had been surprisingly easy to believe they were _all_ victims of the Institute, her included. Even then, why would they program their synths to… fall in love?

He had his thoughts skirting around one particular fact, trying to stop it from coming to the forefront, but it in turn refused to be ignored.

All he wanted was to be with her.

He puffed out the breath he held in and turned toward Nora, having stared at the wall in front of him for the past while, and was immediately concerned. "Nora?" He asked worriedly, seeing her in the fetal position with her back to him. "Are you alright?"

She immediately stifled a groan and responded with "I'm fine…"

He didn't believe that one bit, but understood why she was afraid to face him. He had just been doing the same thing. He knelt on one knee and faced her, hesitating on whether to turn her toward him or not. "I… apologize for… not responding properly to you earlier. Look," he sighed. "I'm not going to lie to you. You're going to have to be patient with me." Nora turned her head up slightly, but other than that she didn't move.

He pressed on. "With recent circumstances, I think you understand that things have been very confusing for us. It's not going to be easy going forward, but... if we can tackle those obstacles together… I think this relationship could last a very long time." He felt the tops of his ears growing hot as a blush built up.

She sat up slowly, turning toward him in shock. "Danse? Are… are you saying--"

She was cut off by Piper's shouting.


	10. Intermission - November 23rd, 2288

It was then that he knew he was in for it. They were at Kingsport, sitting at the top of the lighthouse. She was sitting with her calves dangling over the edge, her arms threaded through the thin railing. If he needed to he was a breath away from lunging forward and grabbing her if she slipped through somehow. He sat back against the curved glass away from the edge. How did this thing survive the bombing? How did anything here survive the bombings?

Then again, _she_ survived the bombings. With the help of a vault and cryostasis, but still.

The wind picked up slightly and blew the wisps of her untied hair in her face and she tucked it back behind her ear. She looked back at him in the same motion and gave a wry smile. "There's railing here; you won't fall."

"I'd prefer to sit here all the same," he sighed. He really hadn't been kidding about appreciating being boots on the ground. He was terrified of heights without his power armor, which was safely standing at the bottom floor. What irony.

Earlier it had been raining and she laughed at his usual complaints about rust. He tried following up the spiral stairs of the lighthouse but every step of his power armor shook the metal steps with dust and rubble falling around them. They both decided it would be best if he left it behind.

So of course there would be a Glowing One trapped up at the top of the lighthouse. They dispatched it with a few scratches and rads later, and she threw it off the top to stop the passive radiation leak. After this and the firefight with the Children of Atom she said she needed a break for Radaway and he agreed, needing the same. The rain had cleared up, the sun was setting, and she sat down to look across the relatively scenic Atlantic Ocean.

He knew he didn't need to stay so close to her, but he chose to anyway. He could have been downstairs cleaning off the gunk off his power armor. He could have ordered her to march back to Cambridge with the haptic drive they came here for. He might have gone back by himself. He should really stop kidding himself.

None of that was happening and he decided to drink in what he could. The next mission they would get would determine her promotion to Paladin. Thankfully the Elder thought it was prudent to inform Danse first. She would need to find the stockpile of MK28s deep in the god-forsaken Glowing Sea to arm Liberty Prime and cement the Brotherhood's place in history as victors over their enemies, the damned Institute especially. Danse would stay beside her until their target was found, then he would stay to watch over the nuke transfer while she went back to the Prydwyn by herself and report on the successful mission to the Elder personally and earn her new title.

After that there would be no reason for them to remain together.

He had mixed feelings. He would be proud to see her reach that potential he knew she had. She had taken everything he taught her combat-wise and went above and beyond. Maybe her absolute loyalty to the Brotherhood was on somewhat unstable foundation, but he had no doubts about how valuable an ally she was as she had proven herself extremely capable and versatile.

But she wouldn't be on his team. Once she got her promotion she'd lead her own squadron and he'd lead his, and the both of them would focus on the war efforts and never again have the small moments like this together until the Institute was a smoking crater.

After the war, if they were both still alive, what then? Would he be asked to leave back to the Capital Wasteland? Her life was here in the Commonwealth, her son was here. Would she ever think about leaving this place?

He shook his head, trying to get his thoughts from spiraling out of control.

She had been watching him for a bit. She turned around and crawled next to him, sitting so her back also leaned against the glass. "Hey. You okay?"

A number of excuses were ready to jump from his lips. With her it seemed pointless, and he had really wanted to ask anyway. "What would you do after the war is over?"

She thudded her head against the glass and sighed. "I have no fucking clue," she admitted. "I thought I'd just stick with you until... Until... Shit, I don't even know. I don't plan that far."

"I thought I taught you to be more prepared, soldier," he chided, half a smile on his face.

"Psh, like _you_ know exactly what's going to happen? What will _you_ do, Danse?" She pressed a finger into his shoulder.

"Whatever the Brotherhood asks of me." It was the truth as far as he could tell. "After we deal with the Institute I may go back to the Citadel."

"In DC?"

"Yeah. It's positively pleasant there compared to the Commonwealth."

"Really now."

"You should see for yourself. The Citadel is a sight to behold." Hopefully he didn't sound too optimistic.

She stared across the Atlantic for a bit. "No. I'll be stealing my son away from that underground shithole, the only home he's ever known. Moving to DC… that seems like too much change all at once." Danse's jaw clenched slightly, the only visible sign of agitation. He was hiding it well enough when he felt like the bottom fell out from underneath him. _That_ was a sign. "I've tried my best to make it feel like home here," she continued worriedly. "I have no idea if it'll be enough."

"I'm certain he'll be happy here because he has you."

"That's nice of you to say," Nora smiled. "I hope you're right."

It seemed to Danse like he could count the mere minutes he had remaining with Nora. The correct course of action was to steel himself, face the disappointment head on, and let her go now. She wasn't going to follow him, and he had no right to ask. He should enjoy whatever he could with the time they had left and move on.

Of course, he knew what he should do _logically_ , but that didn't stop his heart from beating wildly nor his insides from crumbling to dust.

"Have--have you considered staying here? Asking if you could stay here. If you wanted." She asked him nervously. He looked at her in surprise with his eyebrows raised, then a single brow lowered in puzzlement. "Well, alright. I mean… It's just--" Her voice broke and a tear rolled down her cheek. She immediately wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. She laughed. Or coughed. "Goddamn it."

"Soldier?"

"It's so stupid." She sighed. "It's… nevermind. It's stupid."

This was the usual diversionary tactic. He took her by the shoulders and gently turned her to face him. "Knight, please talk to me." It was what they usually did with each other when neither of them was upfront. They couldn't hold back when they held each other like that.

More tears spilled over and she brought a hand up to signal that she needed a moment. She wiped her face again and looked down at her hands. "I'll be sad when you leave. It's… I didn't want to lose anyone again." She cleared her throat. "If you wanted to stay anyway. Heh, no pressure. I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologize. I… appreciate that. I'll be honest… I was sad to hear you wouldn't be coming along to the Capitol."

"We both need to do what we need to do," she sighed, looking up at him. "And that means going our own separate ways if we need to I guess--" Her voice broke again. "God, sorry."

He looked at her and smiled. He felt strangely elated that he was so important to her. "It won't be tomorrow. Who knows, perhaps we'll be here a few more years. God knows the Commonwealth needs us."

She put her head on his shoulder and laughed. Or cried. Danse couldn't tell. "Still infested with super mutants," she muttered.

"And feral ghouls." His heartbeat was thumping in his ears. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her.

"And raiders."

"And Children of Atom," he added. She set her arm behind the small of his back and sat back against the glass again, still leaning her head against his shoulder. He kept an arm over her and pulled her closer. The both of them watched over the Atlantic with the Prydwyn floating in their periphery.

"Gunners. Those goddamn Assaultrons."

"Yao Guai. Mirelurks. Deathclaws."

"Fuck, that's right." She sighed. "The Commonwealth is fucked without us."

"Agreed."

The realization snuck up on him, probably a little too late to do anything about, as usual. This woman here, Knight Nora Shields, had grown to be his best friend. He had mostly gotten under control any untoward feelings; the attraction was wrapped up and suppressed (most of the time). But here and now? It was terrible was how comfortable he felt just sitting here with the silence stretching in front of them. It was worse how he knew she felt the same.

Everything seemed to fade out around them. The waves crashing against the shore were softer, the squawking birds further away, and the sunset less piercing but still beautiful. Over the past year he had changed. She had changed alongside him. They would never forget each other, even if they forgot this moment.

The worst thing of all was now he knew what it was like having someone like her be with someone like him. It was all he wanted from then on. Here and now, with her, was the happiest he'd ever been.


	11. Monachopsis

## December 9th, 2288 – Early Afternoon

"I can't believe you people are listening to _Crazy Myrna_!" Piper shouted. There had been a gathering around Power Noodles as people discussed Nora's re-entrance to the city in the middle of the night. The door of Home Plate creaked open slowly and the voices of the town square loudly echoed in, much to Nora and Danse's dismay. That door had given Nora issues actually closing since she bought the deed.

"Don't you talk to me like that you synth sympathizer! After what happened with the mayor what makes you think I want you here? Or you? _Or you_?!" Myrna pointed at Piper, then Nick, then Nora through what tiny sliver she could see inside Home Plate when Danse made his way outside. "Get out! Get out of my city!"

" _I'm the one that revealed McDonough as a synth_!" Piper yelled, exasperated.

"Now, Myrna," Nick said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"Quiet, Valentine! And you, I don't know what you're up to but I'm onto you! Your detective agency is just a front for Institute body snatchers. You can't lie to me!"

"I'm sorry you believe that," Nick said. "But it's not true. Ellie would never have agreed to be my assistant if that was the case."

"Maybe it's because she's been replaced!"

"God, Nick, it's useless talking with her! Hey go away, shoo, shoo!" Piper waved her hands in front of people's faces as they gathered around the commotion.

"Hey, Nicky, you're good people," one of the townspeople said, ignoring Piper. "But you're… kinda obvious about what you are. It freaks me out, I don't know, to have a synth that's almost human living here like… like it were one of us, right?"

"She was replaced? Howard?"

"So are you saying she's a synth from the institute? Seriously?"

"Yeah, what if she goes nuts like Broken Mask?"

"Didn't she take down McDonough? She saved Danny and Geneva, right?"

"Yes! _She_ did that! She saved Danny and Geneva! She took down a synth that woulda killed us all one by one! Why would she do that if she was working with the Institute?!" Piper yelled, frustration clear in her voice. "God, just _think_ about all this for once in your lives!"

"Don't forget, folks, she also got our very own Travis his groove back and Diamond City Radio's never been better. And where would you get any decent moonshine around here if Vadim had been killed?" Nick chuckled, trying to add some levity to the situation.

"She killed my son."

Valentine sighed. "Look here, Malcom, everyone knows your son got _himself_ killed." Nick growled. "But the first thing she did was come clean to you and explain the situation. Now I know it doesn’t bring your son back, but let me ask how many people here would do the same. Anyone?"

"I like to believe that any reasonable person would do that," Nora said unexpectedly, walking out from her home. She squeezed past Danse as he stood frozen with anger near the doorway, trying to protect her.

"Heh," Valentine chuckled. "I think your brand of reasonable is sorely lacking in this world."

"Piper, you and your Publick Occurrences, you're the one telling us that we should all be afraid of the Institute boogeymen. What do we do now that we know? Aren't we supposed to kill her?" Another townsperson asked.

" _No!_ " Piper and Danse yelled.

"I am a synth," Nora admitted, measuring her words carefully. "There's evidence I am, anyway. I didn't know before, but I know what I am now. To many of you I represent the people who took your loved ones, and… and I know how it hurts to have something taken away. I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry." Her voice hitched. "You may not believe me, but I hate the Institute as much as you do. All they've brought is pain and uncertainty to a world that people already struggle to live in, and it's… wrong. It's just _wrong_. I don't want to interfere with your lives. I'll leave here if you want me to."

"No, Blue," Piper said, pained in realizing it was partly her fault the people of Diamond City were mistrusting.

"But if you can give me a chance, I'll prove to every last one of you that I want peace. And I'll prove it by stopping the kidnappings, I swear to all of you. I'll stop the Institute, period. It's where I'll _start_."

Stunned silence swept across the crowd.

"And--and if anyone can do it, who else than the one who cleared out Diamond City's Most Wanted by herself? Wiped the Super Mutants right here on our doorstep? Who better than the same lady who brought back the Minutemen?" Piper yelled.

Nick scanned the crowd. "We've got a hell of a fighter working on our side. When she makes a promise she follows it through. Now I don't know about you, but this is the kind of dame I want living in _my_ city."

"Diamond City's always pulled through by us working together," Piper said. "We'll show these Institute bastards what hell is and pay them back for everyone they've taken! Now who's with me?!" The people cheered.

"But for now," Nora said calmly, cutting through the reverie. "I need some time to figure things out. I ask for your patience," she pleaded, addressing the crowd. There were murmurs and the crowd seemed unsure.

"Well, you're not welcome at my shop!" Myrna yelled.

"That's fine. I won't bother you." Nora conceded.

Arturo came forward. "Promise us this, then. You don't hurt anyone here in Diamond City. No one. As long as you can do that, you're still welcome at my store."

"Of course. Thank you, Mister Rodriguez." Nora smiled. "I promise."

The townsfolk seemed mostly satisfied with that.

Over the next few minutes the people went back to their own business, or was convinced by Piper to go back to their own business. A few townspeople spoke personally with Nora about their concerns and Nora tried her best to assuage them. She stopped by Commonwealth Weaponry to thank Arturo again. "Don't mention it. Besides, I think a Wanderer like you might need some serious firepower on your way to 'stopping' the Institute," he winked.

Nora blinked. Did he just casually namedrop her Railroad call sign?

"Hey kiddo," Nick said from behind her. She turned around to face him. "You did good with the townsfolk here."

"Thanks, I guess. But that was really you and Piper."

"Still, I'm proud of you for speaking up in the first place." Nora smiled at him and Nick squeezed her arm gently. "But I have to ask, did this nonsense… _interrupt_ something with you and your Paladin?"

"What?" Nora asked, instantly embarrassed. Was it obvious? The heat rushed to her face.

"Well, you two are usually pretty close… Especially _recently_ now that I think about it. He didn't even say a peep to me this morning and the boy's usually opinionated on us synths… so I guess he's learned a thing or two from all this. I promise Piper and I won't barge in again when you two get to talkin'." _Or whatever_ , Nick muttered under his breath.

Nora took a peek over to where the former Paladin was, still standing in front of her doorway. He had been looking at her, and once there was eye contact he immediately turned and pretended to be interested in something else with a blush reappearing on his face.

Nick patted her arm. "You got this. You deserve a break."

She wasn't really sure about that first part but she nodded and walked back to her house. She was still extremely uncomfortable, but Nick was right. She could do with something nice.

"Can we go inside?" She asked Danse. He looked nervously at her but nodded slowly. He followed her inside and closed the door, making sure to latch and lock it, testing to make sure it wouldn't open on its own again. She had run toward the kitchenette and grabbed some of the snack cakes they both liked that were lying around. "Sorry, I'm really hungry," Nora apologized as she stuffed a few cakes into her mouth, realizing after the fact at how ridiculous this was as a programmed stress response.

She was leaning against the counter, her hips resting up against the edge, making a point to remain facing away from him. Interruptions aside, she had no solid idea how to follow up with their conversation. There hadn't been any real plans there and she kicked herself internally for not thinking it through. She wasn't really sure what was going to happen and there were a multitude of questions that remained unanswered, but she was also just so damn amped up. He was… well, it seemed like he was… _willing_ to be with her. So Deacon hadn't been lying after all?

He looked at her figure, his eyes dropping to her ass like they did much too often. He didn't bother to correct himself this time. He came up from behind and placed his hands on the counter next to each side of her hips without making contact. He breathed in, trying to make his nerves calm even though he felt each pulse coursing through his entire body. "Nora, would you please face me?"

_Goddamn it just stop being so nervous_ , she told herself as her heart (or whatever it was) beat wildly. He was so close and his voice was like electricity. She turned around to look at him, her heart rate fluttering. She was breathing quickly and felt weak in the knees.

He brushed the few crumbs off her lips with his thumb and leaned in to kiss her, moving his hands to her waist. She was momentarily still but kissed back, pressing up against him harder after wrapping her arms around his neck, then pulled away suddenly, placing her hands on his chest.

"So… What happened earlier? I thought you were angry at me," she asked, eyebrow raised.

"Angry? Why would I be angry?" He sounded genuinely confused.

"Umm, you seemed more than annoyed that I was… Running from you? As you put it."

"Ah. Is that surprising?"

She sighed and shook her head, realizing she had naturally expected the worst and over-analyzed this shit. She moved her hands back up to his shoulders and entwined her fingers past his neck. "Are you okay with me? As a synth?"

He rested his forehead against hers. "Valentine was right. It doesn't matter what you are. I don't care. You are Nora Shields… and… I've been wanting this for a long time."


	12. Sanctuary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... lemme know if I need to modify the rating...

## December 9th, 2288 – Afternoon

Kissing was nice, she wouldn't deny that. But she had daydreamed something a bit more... impassioned for their first time. Maybe tearing her clothes off and taking her on the counter. Or maybe on the table? Or up against the wall like he almost did last time.

But he was cautious, hesitating. Gentle, sweet, very patient with just his kisses. It seemed like he was handling her like something precious and fragile. This wasn't going to be enough for her.

She pulled away a little and kissed down his jaw, following down and rested her lips on his neck, feeling his pulse quicken. She tested the waters, pulling up a little of his shirt and gauging his reactions. He was already flushed but became even more embarrassed and she felt him freeze. "Do you want me to stop?" She asked, whispering into his ear.

He gave a little laugh and shook his head. "No, but... It's... been a long time," he said sheepishly.

She went back to tracing his jawline with small kisses, encouraging him to look up as she pulled up his shirt the rest of the way, then pulled it over his head and through his arms.

It hadn't been the first time she had seen him shirtless. When was it, their second month on duty? She had gotten rip-roaringly drunk at the Third Rail with Magnolia and stumbled back to find her room locked, but somehow she was able to pick it apart even with her hand-eye coordination hampered by inebriation. When she opened the door Paladin Danse had been standing at the ready with his laser rifle in nothing but his pajama pants and they were both taken aback by the sight of each other.

She had nearly fallen out of the red dress she wore. Nora had been given Magnolia's own dress as a... keepsake of their fun together after Nora had literally charmed the dress off of her. Danse had been surprised enough to stare wide-eyed as he pulled his rifle back, and Nora saw his gaze follow the curves all the way down and back up, stalling a little longer on those assets of hers. She had grinned at him as he blushed and stammered the start of an apology when she caught him, then _she_ apologized for realizing a little late she had broken into the wrong room. But she noted to herself that maybe he found her attractive after all.

She had gotten an eyeful of the Paladin sans Power Armor, and she definitely liked what she saw then. She liked better what she saw now, on closer inspection. She traced his sternum with her fingers, feeling the soft black hair across his upper chest, then continued down with the thin stream of black that led to and past his belly button. He shied away from her touch then, taking in a breath to pull his stomach in.

He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips, kissing them. He looked back at her and smiled shyly. "Your hands are cold," he explained.

Funny how she hadn't notice that when she felt uncomfortably warm in other places. She pulled him down for a hard kiss then slipped out from underneath him. He nearly fell into the kitchenette cabinets, but caught himself and turned around to see where she was going. She had thrown off her button-up shirt and was in the process of leaping up the stairs and unclasping her bra as he watched, letting it drop down from the stairs onto the floor when she was done. "Come warm me up, then," she called, still teasing.

He was still a little in disbelief, looking at the stairs. He… had never really expected this to happen. He broke out of the momentary trance when he saw an article of clothing get tossed over onto the bottom floor from the bed upstairs. It was her pants. A portion of her white panties stuck out in stark contrast to her dark gray slacks and it hit him that she had literally thrown off all her clothing. His blush spread full body, down to his toes, and he stumbled up the stairs in a daze.

He pulled off his boots one at a time, walking barefoot across the carpets she had lain down all across the second floor. He noticed she was also barefoot, though this was because of a polite force of habit to look at the floor when cramped spaces meant Brothers and Sisters had to change in close proximity. She caught his arm and pulled him toward her, one hand cupped his face to make him look up at her.

Danse was all too aware of how little clothing there was between them. She maneuvered them both toward the bed, drawing him down on top of her as she kept pulling him down for kisses, keeping them both gasping for air in between. She trailed her fingers down his back to his stupid pants, lightly dragging her nails across all the while. Nora was rewarded with an involuntary shiver from him and felt his tongue press against hers harder. She curled her fingers in his hair and pressed her mouth to his, her other hand fumbling at undoing the front of his jeans.

He had decided to submit fully to her whims, still hesitant after long years out of practice. He wanted to do so much more but... that would happen later. She set the pace and he followed all too willingly, thankful that she had smiled and laughed at their mishaps and his awkward tenderness, the both of them learning how well their bodies fit together.

Pretty damn well.

* * *

## December 12th, 2288 – Afternoon

It had been a long time since Preston Garvey had set foot inside Diamond City, but he had been passing by it pretty much every time on his way to aid various Commonwealth citizens considering its central location. The last time he was inside was with the General months and months ago, and she only stopped to get supplies for their trip down to yet another settlement needing their help. It had been a rare thing indeed to have her attending to Minutemen duties with him ever since she partnered up with the Paladin. Preston couldn't really complain as he had realized she applied those BoS skills in building defensible structures and teaching civilians how to make and use weapons from spare parts.

He also had to admit that half the reason he appreciated her for that was due to Paladin Danse teaching her those skills.

Walking up closer, the relatively familiar green diamond markers gave way to a giant metal gate. Looked like Diamond City was back to being on guard.

This Deacon guy got on the comms system and pressed the buzzer. "Yeah, who are you," the disembodied voice asked through the tinny speakers, casually suspicious and bored at the same time.

"C'mon, Danny, you give me the code phrase and I give you the password. You can't just--" Deacon started.

Preston politely cut him off. "This is Preston Garvey with the Minutemen. I'd like to make a pit stop and get some supplies here, please. I have a friend here with me, his name is--"

"Dusty Bottoms," Deacon answered. The disembodied voice groaned. "The password is 'open sesame'," Deacon whispered loudly into the intercom. Preston shut his eyes and suppressed a sigh. How did Nora ever get to be friends with this man?

"Yeah, yeah, make your way inside and make it fast." The wall was lifted with rusty screeching and a loud boom reverberated through Preston as it slammed closed immediately behind him and Deacon, plunging the two into sudden darkness in sharp contrast with the blinding daylight they had been in before. _Cutting it close there_ , Preston thought. He'd never seen the gate handled so quickly. Things had definitely gotten tense around here.

Preston somewhat fumbled up the short stairs to the open air city as his eyes were adjusting, the chaotic colors of the shops ahead welcoming him to the Green Jewel of the Commonwealth. He saw something new lining the upper edges of the stadium, mounted to the wall in evenly spaced segments: were those _laser turrets_? "What the..."

"Looks like our General here has gotten wise to keep eyes on the skies," Deacon whistled.

"So... does that mean y'all are serious about the Brotherhood thing?"

"Yup."

Preston suppressed a need to gulp. He and Deacon came down and walked past the Church, heading toward Home Plate. Deacon paused Preston with a hand to the shoulder and nodded his head in the direction of the weapons shop. There was a tall man with slicked-back black hair talking with the shop owner.

Preston suppressed a need to frown.

Once he heard the tall man's voice, it clicked. _That man_ was Paladin Danse, and honestly Preston was surprised the Paladin wasn't in some metal death contraption like he usually was. It made him nigh unrecognizable to look _human_. But the thing that surprised and displeased Preston the most was just how damn _happy_ the Paladin seemed. Nora was being hunted by the Brotherhood, which Danse was a representative of, so why the hell was the Paladin _here_ and _happy_ over _laser rifles_ when Nora's life was in danger? Did he do something to Nora? If he did Preston had a nice laser rifle right here that Danse could see the business end of, up close and personal.

The holotape recording of Nora's that Deacon handed over after "temporarily replacing" a provisioner was kept short and vague in case it got intercepted, a necessary evil that Deacon was seemingly both proud of and insulted by. Nora's voice had a shaken quality to it as she resigned from her post after promoting Garvey to General. She mentioned that she was currently safe and that Deacon and the Railroad were trustworthy. She didn't mention anything about a certain Paladin, however.

Preston had made up his mind on the spot to see her in person after the recording ended, and after a few arguments with the Railroad agent Deacon decided it was better to accompany him to Diamond City directly than to have some unsavory ears listen in on some loaded questions being asked about their mutual friend over the Minutemen radio waves.

Now here they were, in Diamond City, lacking the presence of the woman of the century.

Preston cleared his throat again. "Paladin Danse?"

Danse turned around, the hint of a smile still on his lips. "General Garvey."

"Where's the Ge—Where's Nora?" Preston had to get used to the title not being hers.

"She's fixing up the water purifiers," Danse answered.

"Thanks," Preston said, wanting to move on, but... "How's she doing?"

"Productive, at least," Deacon cut in. "C'mon, let's go." He pulled Preston along, but not before Garvey saw a melancholy smile on Danse toward Nora's general direction.

* * *

Nora was soaked to the bone having dove in and cleared out the debris of whatever it was Diamond City had as a reservoir. She argued with Sheng about the maintenance, since of course he was the one that allowed the junk to accumulate and clog up the purifiers, but she cut her arguments short when she saw Preston and Deacon heading toward her.

She ran back toward them. "Garvey! Oh thank God!" She laughed. "I'd give you a hug but I think you'd hate it."

General Garvey hugged her anyway. "God, it's good to see you," Preston whispered, brushing away the sticky clumps of hair on her face.

"Alright, alright, get a room. I thought you shacked up with the Tin man anyway," Deacon coughed. "Let's get a move on."

"Need to dry off," Nora sighed. "Let's get to Home Plate. General, I have a few ideas for the Minutemen if you'll give me a couple minutes."

The two men and Nora headed back to the center of town. On the way in Nora grabbed Danse's hand, smiling as she did so, and got everyone inside.

Preston and Deacon said nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to apologize. This is literally fresh off the press, so future chapters are going to be slower to be added. Especially since I'm now Miraculous Ladybug trash... But I promise there's a ton more to the story. Thank you all for reading :)


	13. Intermission – May 7th, 2288

Whoever this Nora Howard was, she was an adept protégé and relatively willing student. It had been over 5 months since his sponsorship and so far it hadn't been a _complete_ failure like Rhys' initial stint had been. Danse was getting comfortable with this Knight. Perhaps a little too comfortable.

Initially this Knight had been skittish around danger and hesitant to Danse's recommendations on protecting herself. She had balked at wearing power armor. Fine, that was a preference, though a generally uninformed one. He had proven how valuable the armor was when he had his suit act as improvised cover when she had made a mistake in forgetting to check for tripwires, setting one off. Danse shoved her behind him to shield her as an explosion set off. A major dent (with shrapnel) in a still functional suit and a still very much alive Danse led to a long discussion on the benefits of wearing Brotherhood level protection and being ever vigilant in their surroundings.

She still didn't want to wear it, and he held in a heavy sigh. But at least she got better about checking for traps above and below eye-level.

He taught her how to deal with the recoil in her preferred class of sniper rifles. The bruises from heavy caliber kickback eventually faded as she modified the butt of the rifles, adding pads for comfort and investing in quality, upgrading to heavier weight stocks for stability and durability. Her breathing control was getting consistent. She had a slight pull to the right as she squeezed the trigger that was being corrected.

She had kept around the old laser rifle Danse had given her after their foray into Arcjet, and he insisted she learn how to work with it so it became an extension of herself. She had fired wildly into the room in panic when the horde of Synths had descended on Danse, and he wanted to make sure he wasn't accidentally shot in the back by his own Knight when the fight or flight response kicked in. She learned to rely on the trusty laser rifle over time and it was watching poetry in motion when she pulled out Righteous Authority to nail a couple of Wasteland abominations between the eyes.

She had gotten quite commendable with her skills, which made Danse proud (and relieved) to have her by his side.

It was all the more horrifying when she made mistakes.

Granted, it wasn't as if _he_ never made mistakes. Most of his mistakes were interpersonal, with Danse unable to gauge whether she had been joking or not when she made passes at him. He figured it was her way of dealing with stress and making light of a desperate situation. She had literally been delivered into an apocalyptic nightmare when she woke up from cryosleep, so perhaps she had needed that release valve of teasing him. He'd somehow not been _too_ bothered by that.

Her mistakes were strategic. Perhaps it was because he hadn't been able to wean her off his tactical expertise that her tracking abilities had suffered.

He'd have to correct that at first opportunity. What had happened that day was unfortunate and preventable, but teachable. If there was anyone left to teach.

Trinity Church was just another location to clear out. It had been a standard mission. They had dealt with groups of Super Mutants before. The physical remnants of the broken Church was mostly in line with all of the other ruins they had explored.

Knight Howard dealt the best she could, he would give her credit for that. There was that slight wild panic before the training set in as she instinctively reached for Righteous Authority and fired off a volley at a Suicider before the mini-nuke blast radius was too near the two of them. The shockwave knocked her off balance slightly, but she recovered gracefully enough.

Only for the both of them to be hit in the back with a Church pew thrown by a Super Mutant. Danse was solidly in place, barely moved an inch with his Power Armor rooting him, but Nora... Time slowed down as Paladin Danse tried to catch her when she fell forward and down, down through the giant hole in the floor, twisting in surprise as her body dropped through to the bottom. There was a thud, some muffled cracking Danse urgently hoped was rotten wood, something else Danse recognized as the rending of flesh all underneath the gurgled, choked scream that tore out of his Knight.

He rarely cursed, but this situation warranted an explicative. "NORA! FUCK!!!"

He heard her weak crying after he created a gaping, smoking hole in the last visible Mutant. She had not died yet. He was going to do his damnedest to keep it that way.

He dropped to the bottom floor where she was, realizing a split second after jumping that A) He hated the feeling of dropping, and B) The landing was going to reverberate through the building. B was the worst. It would inform remaining Super Mutants where they were, should there be more, and it would also vibrate the shit out of wherever he landed and he aimed to be landing close to (and definitely not _on_ ) Nora to help as fast as possible.

He pulled out the medications in his bag, barely glancing over her condition. He'd have to act on instinct, any extra seconds spent contemplating exactly what was wrong would contribute to her demise. She had her head lifted. She was trying to scream. Limbs still attached and bent in the right ways. There was metal sticking out of her chest.

He had hoped never to use it, but he pulled out his emergency supply of Med-X and injected that into Nora, then quickly studied the bloody rebar that impaled her, which ended up right underneath her right collarbone. Thank God it didn't pierce her heart. He immediately drove a stimpak into the healthy skin next to the gore and forced the plunger down, counting the passing seconds to himself mentally as the combination of Med-X and stimpak kicked her recovery system into hyperdrive. She had been coughing up blood and the sucking wounds of her pierced lung was enough to make anyone but Danse gag. He just hoped the Brotherhood had supplies of whatever her blood type was in cold storage.

It took three more stimpaks to make sure the light in her eyes stopped fading. After she became more stable they were able to shear off the excess rebar and shifted her upright, working hurriedly but still gingerly to prevent the embedded metal from dislodging as they bandaged her. He was going to have to call in a vertibird as soon as the situation allowed. Her skin was clammy and stiff with drying blood, the still warm pool underneath her stained through every piece of clothing and matted her hair. Her breathing was strained at best and the smells and sounds and her tears were unbearable.

He wished he had jetpacks. He almost laughed at Nora's ridiculous idea of strapping rockets to the back of a PA suit, but now he regretted it and wished he had let her run with that idea. If only he had seen how her creativity would have saved them. Helped him save her. But what did that matter now?

They heard the gruff noises of Super Mutants coming in through the main doors of the Church. Worst came to worst as a new Super Mutant hound immediately took to sniffing out the trail of Nora's fresh blood and bayed. Danse had told her to brace for pain as he scooped her up and stomped to a fallback position, a washroom at the end of a defensible narrow hallway that helped to funnel the Mutants, though that was also Nora and Danse's only exit. He wasn't about to fight through God only knew how many new Mutants when his companion was downed and he was out 4 stimpaks. Not until he knew she was safe.

Danse hurriedly crept around and opened all of the containers in the room. With visible relief he tore through an ancient first aid kit he found and opened some glass bottle of expired antiseptic, spraying its still acrid contents in the hallway in the hopes of throwing off the scent of blood. A couple of harrowing minutes passed waiting for the Mutants' reactions to their movement. The both of them had their hearts beating too hard to really hear anything, but nothing happened.

He handed the two new stimpaks to Nora, trusting her to self-medicate when she needed it.

They stayed down there, maybe a half hour as the activity of the Super Mutants settled down, the hound luckily having decided to avoid this particular section of the Church. Danse and Nora had stayed silent, except that Nora had to have another Med-X as the pain grew intolerable and she let loose a few ragged cries as she breathed. The air was heavy with the decrepit devastation of the Church, the smell of copper from Nora's seeping bandages faint underneath the pungent odor of antiseptic.

Danse let himself relax a marginal bit.

Nora hadn't used either of the additional stimpaks, and he could see her grit her teeth, able to manage her pain. He had taken stock of his ammunition. They had enough to get out of here. Most likely. Her pack carried spares. It would have to be enough.

"Hang in there, Soldier. I'll be clearing the way. We'll get you to Knight-Captain Cade and you'll be patched up in no time," Danse whispered.

She panicked and reached out for him, scrambling to reach the handles on his chest-piece. "No, no, no, please don't leave me," she rasped back, stifling back her cries of pain as the piece of rebar in her shifted.

" _Stop moving, Soldier_ ," Danse hissed. He put his metal hands on her shoulders and pressed her away. She crumpled under the pressure, covering her mouth with her left hand to stop from screaming. He immediately felt bad, but she was giving into hysteria and he would have her in a better place as soon as he had the chance to clean up the Mutants.

"Danse, I'm sorry," she mouthed, her voice not audible as she tried to breathe out the words. "Don't leave," she pleaded.

This was the same kind of wrenching gut punch Cutler's _transformation_ inspired. "I promise you'll be alright," he replied softly, like he did almost a decade ago. He shoved the rest of that memory away.

He grabbed the laser rifle at her hip and placed it in her hands, watching as her left hand wrapped itself around the familiar grip. She wasn't left handed, but he was thankful he forced her to use her non-dominant hand in their training exercises. He'd have to rely on it being enough.

The fight against the new wave of Mutants was handled with more stealth than sheer firepower, which wasn't Danse's preferred method against the abominations. He had to make sure he wasn't drawing too much attention to himself or Nora. Thankfully the Mutants were little more than dumb brutes and he picked off small, splintered groups, focusing on the Hounds first. For a little under an hour Danse was in his element, making smoldering ash heaps of the Wasteland terrors, but he did feel like his back was wide open.

He made a point of moving through the Church quickly, checking for any other dangers he might have missed. When reasonably sure they would be safe inside, Danse peeked outside and checked the perimeter. He grabbed a smoke grenade and pulled the pin, signaling to any nearby vertibird that there was a pickup.

Danse made his way back to Nora, finding her slumped and unresponsive against the wall. She still hadn't used any of the stimpaks she had at hand. Before giving into the panic, Danse held up his metal hand just over her mouth, sighing audibly in relief as he saw a tiny breath steam up his palm. Well, it was better that she was unconscious. Feeling that rebar get jostled would have been a bitch, and they had to get up some stairs to get out.

It was a damn sight for sore eyes to see the 'bird touch down outside the Church, blowing out Commonwealth debris in a wide radius. A Knight in Power Armor ran to help Danse carry Nora on. Danse communicated with the other Knight standing by and she nodded her affirmative to stay at Trinity Plaza and sort through the mess inside. Danse nodded to the pilot and the vehicle took off toward the Prydwyn.

Nora had stayed unconscious for days. Danse had checked in often and felt simultaneous relief and anxiety when she woke up in his presence. Then there was surprise.

She had slugged him in the jaw with a mean right hook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for yet another cliffhanger?
> 
> My memory of Trinity Church is hazy, but fanfiction is a little ~flexible~, I hope you'll agree


End file.
